


The Lazy Painter

by BlackMageofPhantasm



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Straw Hat Pirates are Weird, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-03-31 17:34:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 87,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMageofPhantasm/pseuds/BlackMageofPhantasm
Summary: Really, it was supposed to be an easy mission. They'd kill the pirates, capture the princess and then she'd go back to eating her rice crackers. But all of her allies had been defeated, leaving her alone. It would've been so easy to let her enemies go, but she wouldn't. She was a pro, and no matter who her targets were, she'd always complete the mission. Nothing would change that.





	1. Goldenweek's Report 001: The Mission

This was far more cumbersome than she could've imagined.

A young girl let out another sigh, the sixth one in the last minute. She wore a sky blue blouse; there were small white clouds scattered everywhere along the shirt. Every button was undone, which exposed her dark blue T-shirt with the words "Golden" written in orange letters. A necklace of orange pearls wrapped around her neck, and a green medallion tied with a black string hung just above the neckline of her shirt. She had on a maroon colored skirt with the top portions of it folded down and violet striped stockings. On her feet were cinnabar red hightops—though, the color had faded slightly—with white cuffs and soles. She was short—but for someone her age she thought she was slightly above average—and had crimson-red hair tied into twin braided pigtails that hung loosely by the sides of her head.

And on her head was a wide-brimmed, cherry blossom pink hat that currently had its edges crumpled and pushed upward due to being in a rather...tight space.

Miss Goldenweek sighed. Again.

She should've just stayed on Kyuka Island. It was boring, but at least it wasn't as bad as the situation she found herself in now. She should've just ignored that letter the boss had sent to them, then she could've just avoided this giant—pun not intended—mess and enjoy some tea; even if it wasn't as good as her partner's.

But she could not  _ever_ disregard one of the boss's orders; that was suicide. She might prolong telling her partner about a letter the boss had sent, but she would still tell him within a few hours. She just wanted to spend as much time as she could relaxing before they would have to go on whatever mission the boss ordered them to complete.

But in this case, it had not mattered whether or not she chose to accept her orders. Because both she and Mr. 3 would've been in equally horrible situations no matter what their choice had been. And currently, she wondered if going on the run from their boss would've been as bad as hiding in a barrel—a very,  _very_ tight barrel—as she prepared to do something she absolutely loathed doing.

Working hard.

Her black eyes were still peeking through the small cracks in the barrel as she waited.

This had been an absolute disaster. Mr. 3 had been defeated by a rookie pirate who by all means should have died the moment her partner had taken out his ultimate technique. That pirate's entire crew should have been wiped out by Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine when they had enacted their plan, but somehow, they were the ones who had been bested. And she definitely should  _not_  have been beaten black and blue by an overgrown chicken.

The bruises on her body still stung, but she ignored them.

It really wasn't her day. She had truly believed that Mr. 3 would have beaten the crew of rookie pirates with ease. It was why she had not really bothered to put much effort into the fight itself and thought that it would be perfectly fine to set up her picnic; taking herself out of the fight and just watching while she ate her rice crackers. It was why she had confirmed that Mr. 3's wax was indeed meltable after they had guessed it. She had seen the master of the Wax-Wax Fruit kill hundreds of different pirates with higher bounties than Monkey D. Luffy. And considering how easily she had handled him before, she didn't see a reason to get serious. So, she left the rest of the work to Mr. 3.

She did not think they could ever beat her partner and her fellow agents. But she could not have been more wrong.

After all of the time she had spent in this world—of assassins, murderers, and sadistic psychopaths—she had learned a few valuable lessons. Always make sure the target is dead if those are the orders. Never leave any witness after committing your crime. Always be prepared for any situation and never  _assume_ you have won. Some of the stronger agents of Baroque Works had seemed to have forgotten these useful lessons. And as she recalled the day in her mind, she realized that she had gotten careless; that she had been a  _tad_ too lazy when she should have put in  _some_  effort. She had gotten too comfortable in letting Mr. 3 handle all of the fighting, and had made some rather basic mistakes because of it.

And as a result, she and the rest of her allies had been beaten. In her case, by a glorified  _pet._

She swore, if she succeeded, that duck would be roasted and in her stomach within the hour.

She heard something creaking, and immediately every muscle in her body tensed. Her eyes shifted to where she heard the noise originate from. And she watched through the cracks of the barrel as a door slowly opened.

And now that she was here, waiting in a barrel with bruises covering her body and dirt in her hair, she could clearly remember the most important lesson she had learned in the five years she had been an agent for.

Always complete the mission.

So even though she wanted nothing more but to eat some of her delicious rice crackers, even though she could have just stayed on Little Garden and act like she was unconscious to avoid doing more work...

She watched as someone stepped through the door. It was a bit hard to make out the person, but she could see strands of blonde hair brushed to one side and a cigarette in their mouth.

...She would not. Because she had a mission. And no matter what, she had to complete it. If she did not...well, the boss wouldn't be very pleased. And the last time he was not pleased, five officer agents had "disappeared."

Her eyes narrowed as the blonde man closed the door behind him; she did not know his name, she had not even seen him once during the fight.

When she first woke up after the duck had beaten her—how much time had passed she did not know—she slowly got up from the jungle floor. It was hard moving her injured limbs, each movement she made caused her to wince and let out small hisses of pain. She was  _so_  tempted to go back to Mr. 3's wax house and just  _rest_ there for however long she pleased. But she realized the situation she was in, and she could not slack off any longer. The mission was in danger of failing, and someone had to do something to prevent that.

And it was made very clear within twenty minutes of searching the island that it would be her to take up such a tiresome task.

The first thing she had done was assess just how bad her circumstances were. For some reason, after the duck had beaten her up, no one had bothered to either kill her or tie her up. Were they that sure that they had won they did not feel the need to? She had pushed aside questions like those for another time as she made her way through the thick vines and trees that made up Little Garden. She needed to find out if any of her allies were still able to fight. She kept to the shadows, moving as quietly as she could to avoid detection from not only the pirates and giants but also the prehistoric dinosaurs and other animals that were everywhere on the island.

She knew she had thought this before, but the Grand Line was seriously messed up.

She had seen Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine bruised and unconscious bodies only a few feet away from the towering forms of the two giants that they had tried to capture. And in front of them, they were talking to four of the Straw Hat Pirates and the princess, what exactly she did not know. She had stayed a rather far distance away from them, hiding behind a tree as she observed them with half-closed eyes.

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were out. Even from so far, she could tell that there was no way they were getting up anytime soon. So, she quietly went off to look for the only another person on the island who could help her. Even though she had been almost right next to him when that duck attacked her, when she first got up Mr. 3 was nowhere in sight. As she searched for her partner she had ended up on the coast of the island. Specifically, the part of the coast where they had docked their ship.

And it was gone. Just like Mr. 3

She had been ditched. Knowing Mr. 3, he probably thought that she had been knocked out just like her fellow agents. He had been injured worse than her, if the shattering of bones she heard when Monkey D. Luffy hit him was anything to go by, so he knew that there was no way he could beat the Straw Hats. So, he had decided that, rather than risk getting killed by these pirates, he instead chose to run. Most likely to try and apologize to the boss about their failure.

She had spent years with the man and knew how he thought. She knew every choice he would make given these circumstances. Just like how she knew the reason why he left her behind.

_At any given moment, I can, and will, abandon you if I believe you would be a hindrance to my survival._

He had never said those words to her—out loud, anyway—but he did not have to. It was the same message that was shared between every agent of Baroque Works. Between anyone who lived and worked with criminals. No matter what, they were in it for themselves. They would do anything to rise to the top; even if it meant leaving people behind who they genuinely like. Even if they had worked together for years, they would stab one another in the back in a heartbeat. There were no lines that had not already been crossed by the people who worked under the boss.

There was no such thing as friendship here.

She was not surprised. She knew how he thought, so of course, it was not too hard to believe he would do something like this. She did not feel betrayed by his actions. She did not feel angry or even remotely bitter that he had left her alone.

She felt nothing as she looked over the coast with her half-closed black eyes.

She liked Mr. 3. He was nice to her. He was one of the few people in Baroque Works who she thought was, while far from a friend, a decent enough person in her opinion. He had allowed her to eat her rice crackers whenever she wanted. He let her set up picnics as he killed whatever target the boss had assigned her; never doing anything more than irritably grumbling at her lack of seriousness as he proceeded to disembowel a pirate just a few feet away from her. And as much as he might complain about her laziness, he had not once tried to hurt her in an effort to get her to stop being so blasé about everything.

He was a good partner. He gave her the option of being as serious or as lazy as she wanted no matter the mission, and she appreciated that. So, she wished him the best of luck in his endeavor.

Because right now he was a dead man walking. Just like her. The boss would never forgive anyone for failing a mission this important. But her partner would still go to there boss and attempt to plead for his life, even though it would be useless. This was one of the rare moments of pure stupidity Mr. 3 would sometimes get. Her personal favorite had been when he thought it was a good idea to shape his hair into the shape of a giant three.

And while Mr. 3 went off on his personal suicide mission, she had decided to finish the one they had started. Which was why she had run through the forest as fast as she could in her injured state.

And why she was glad to have gotten to the Straw Hats' ship before they did.

Her mind had been working fast to develop some kind of plan, and after a moment she had one. She checked every inch of the ship, setting up her trap and then looked for a decent hiding spot.

And the only one she had found was the barrel full of booze—rum if she had to guess—in the cabin that looked like a combination of a kitchen and a lounge. From there, she dumped the liquid out of the barrel into the canal they had docked their ship in, placed it back in the same spot she found it and hopped inside it as she placed the lid back on top.

Then she waited. She waited as she heard the Straw Hats get back on board. She waited as they set sail from Little Garden. She waited as she felt a ridiculously powerful shockwave shake the ship, making sure not to make a sound as she practically felt like she was flying for a moment.

She waited until the moment where one of the Straw Hats would fall into her trap.

And as she watched the blonde haired one walk on the wooden planks towards the stove, it finally looked like that moment had come.

The man suddenly stopped walking, and while it was hard to tell through the cracks, it looked like he was looking down at the floor.

"The hell's this?"

His voice was low, and she had to strain her ears to properly hear him. But when she did, she instantly knew what he was referring to.

Her eyes glanced down and saw the white tarp she had placed on the floor just a few feet away from the stove.

Come on. Just a little bit more…

"Damn it Luffy."

She heard the blond-haired man sigh as he crouched down.

That's it…

"I told you to clean up your messes after-."

The man reached for the tarp and grabbed a handful of the fabric. And just as he pulled his arm back, he stopped moving. The cigarette fell out of the blond man's mouth and rolled along the floor. He then let go of the tarp in his hand as it fell back to the floor.

And as it fell, underneath the white tarp she saw a familiar green color.

She watched as the blonde man slowly crawled towards the tarp before laying down on his sides right in the center of it. He was no longer facing her direction, and instead looked at the opposite wall

"What's…going on?"

His voice had gone from mildly irritated to calm in an instant. Even though she was sure he was confused as to why he had decided to lay down on the tarp, his words only showed a sense of ease and nonchalance.

And the moment he finished speaking, she felt a familiar rush of power spreading throughout her body before disappearing as quickly as it came.

That was all the confirmation she needed.

She grabbed the paintbrush and palette that she had placed right next to her and slowly got up from her awkward sitting position. She placed one hand underneath the lid and pushed it open.

And then she spoke:

**"Colors Trap…"**

Her voice had always been quiet, but now she made it even softer than usual. It would be bad if anyone else heard her, after all.

For a moment, the blond-haired man tensed when he heard her speak. But then all of the tension in his body quickly left him, and soothing tranquility took its place.

**"Tranquil Green."**

With the lid now removed, she carefully made her way over the head of the barrel, legs now hanging over the edge, before hopping down onto the planks below. They creaked slightly, and her head immediately whipped to the door; thankfully, no one came.

She let out the breath she had been holding in since the man entered the cabin. She then walked over to where he was laying, carefully stepping on the planks to make as little noise as possible. And once she circled around the blond man so that she was directly in front of him, she examined him. He wore an almost jet black double-breasted suit with a matching tie and a deep blue buttoned-up shirt—what shade exactly she couldn't tell—underneath it. He had combed his hair to one side of his face, one eye covered by long strands of blonde hair. And above his one visible eye, there was an eyebrow that spiraled like a whirlpool at its end.

It kinda looked like a dartboard.

"Who…are you?"

As Mr. Dartboard Brow spoke, she saw the relaxed grin on his face twitch. His face seemed to strain like he was trying to frown, but it always went back to its calm expression not even a second later.

Well, it looked like he was not as susceptible to her abilities as his captain.

"They didn't tell you about me?"

She spoke in her usual monotone as she raised an eyebrow.

"I would have thought that your comrades would have told you what happened on the island you were just on."

His eyes widened for a moment before returning back to normal size as the calm grin was once again forced upon his lips.

"You're with…Baroque Works."

His voice, the same stiff and slow voice that he had gained since he stepped into her trap, rose in volume. Not loud enough for anyone outside to hear, but to her it was noticeable. So, they did tell him what happened. They just neglected to mention her.

"Yes, I am."

"What…are you doing to me?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow's expression was once again twitching. She could see his legs and arms straining to move, but they could not. It was like an unseen force was compelling his body to remain in his relaxed position on the floor. And really, that was not very far off from what was happening.

"I could explain it to you…"

She slowly raised her palette until it was parallel to her chest. Her other arm brought the paintbrush down to one of the many paints located on the palette.

"But it would not be worth the effort."

So far, her plan was going off rather well. Originally, she had thought about painting their ship in with as many Color Traps as she could spare. True it would be obvious, and her presence would immediately be given away, but at least she would have already set up the perfect battlefield for her to fight in. If they so much as stepped in a single one of her Color Traps they would be out of the fight unless they could smudge the paint off.

But then she remembered just how strong they were. They defeated Mr. 3 and the sixth strongest team in all of Baroque Works. And that was after Mr. 3 had gotten three of their members trapped in his Candle Service Set. That was after knocking out one of the giants and capturing the other one in his wax and driving wax swords through his hands to pin him to the ground.

And yet, even though so much went according to their plan, even though most of the Straw Hats had been seemingly defeated, they still continued to fight. And even with so many advantages, she and the rest of her allies still lost to the rookie pirates.

She realized that even if she had the time to make a detailed and well-constructed plan, she still would not be sure it would work. Mr. 3's plan had seemed flawless—like most of his plans from the past—yet it had failed. So, it was then she decided that rather than try and go for a complicated plan, she would keep it simple.

And so, she had only made one color trap and painted it onto one side of a white tarp in less than a second and placed it in the lounge of the ship where she hid. Her plan was to essentially wait for one of the pirates to step on it, and from there, she would paint another Colors Trap on said person's body. Then, with the new Color Trap etched on their body, the person would attack their crewmates indiscriminately, and as they wondered what was going on, she would paint more Color Traps on them during the chaos until they were all subdued.

And after that, she would kill the pirates; except for the navigator, because sailing was not one of her stronger skills, and then take their ship with the princess on board. And then, she would make some green tea—the ship had the ingredients, she had checked—and  _finally_ rest.

Of course, she was well aware as to just how much luck she needed to pull this plan off. So much could have gone wrong, but she had decided to gamble, considering just how much was at stake.

And it had paid off spectacularly. Only one Straw Hat had entered the cabin, ensuring that her presence would not be noticed if say more than one pirate had come into the room and noticed their friend acting strangely. In addition, she had made sure to cover every porthole in the room to make sure that no one could peak into the cabin and see her using her abilities.

Luck seemed to be on her side.

She pressed her brush against the red paint on her palette. She then pressed the now dripping brush on a part of her palette that had a small dollop of black paint—separate from the other larger portion of black paint—and began to mix the two colors.

Hopefully, if her plan went off without any problems, she would be done in a few minutes.

**"Colors Trap…"**

Once again, she spoke as quietly as she could. And after less than a second of mixing, a deep red paint—though parts of the black paint that had created it could still be seen—now dripped from the hairs of the brush. She then pulled the arm holding her brush back until it was right next to her head.

Mr. Dartboard Brow's eyes widened. And in a second, they would be full of rage.

**"Scarlet-."**

She never finished as the door the blond-haired man had come from slammed open. Her head instantly whipped towards the entrance.

And she saw a familiar straw hat atop a man with his eyes closed and an almost impossibly wide smile.

…Great.

"Hey, Sanji!"

With that gleeful shout, and this man could seriously scream, he spread his arms out wide as he let out several large chuckles. From behind the captain, the one with the long nose—like a Tengu's—entered the cabin and stood behind him. His expression was just as cheerful as his captain's.

That is, until Mr. Tengu saw just who was standing in the lounge. And the moment he did, fear strangled his expression as his eyes widened to an impossible size. His mouth was almost hitting the floor as buckets worth of sweat cascaded down his skin.

The captain had not noticed the Mr. Tengu's sudden change in demeanor as he continued.

"We're hungry, so could you make us some-!"

He opened his eyes for the first time. And then he immediately stopped talking once he saw who was in the lounge.

…She supposed in this kind of situation, she should come up with some sort of taunt. That was what Mr. 3 would have done.

Straw Hat Luffy's jaw dropped; much like the subordinate next to him. Though, Straw Hat did so out of shock rather than fear.

…Eh, she didn't really feel like taunting. It was never really her thing. Besides, a new opportunity just presented itself to her.

"Ah!"

He snapped one arm forward as he pointed at her.

The opportunity to get rid of the biggest threats on this ship.

"You're-!"

**"Scarlet Hatred!"**

This time, she was shouting. Before the captain of the Straw Hats could finish speaking, she moved. She turned around and instantly her arm went through the motions she had practiced so many times before. Her brush moved in precise and quick strokes, drawing a familiar circular symbol in the air as it floated for a moment.

And then it propelled itself forward, shooting through the lounge and heading right for her new target. Straw Hat Luffy did not even have time to react as the scarlet symbol crashed into his stomach. Mr. Tengu moved out of the way as his captain stumbled backward from the impact, stepping out of the cabin until his back hit the railings just a few feet behind him. She watched as Straw Hat Luffy did not even bother trying to correct his balance as he fell backward off the railing and onto the main deck below.

And when she heard the crash his body made when it hit the wooden floor of the main deck, she felt another surge of power, once again vanishing after a second.

And just like that, two Straw Hats had succumbed to her abilities.

"What the-?"

"Luffy?"

"Luffy, are you-?"

"Squa?"

Four different voices immediately came from the area near where Monkey D. Luffy crashed. She heard people moving along the deck towards—if she had to guess since she could not see—their captain.

And a few seconds after the four voices spoke, a scream radiating rage spread throughout the ship.

"RAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

From over the railings, a leg stretched to the sky. The limb kept growing in length with every second, going higher and higher and showing no signs of stopping,

"Luffy, what in the hell are you-?!"

That voice—a deep, shocked and masculine voice she instantly recognized—did not get a chance to finish whatever he was saying as Straw Hat Luffy let out another roar.

**"Gomu Gomu no Ono!"**

The stretching leg finally seemed to reach its zenith as it stopped growing. And in the next instant, the long limb was brought down, moving through the air like a guillotine as it descended towards the ship

"SCATTER!"

The feminine cry she heard was followed by the stretched-out leg crashing into the deck. The ship lurched as planks of wood flew into the air from the impact. The ship continued to shake; she had to put an effort in keeping her balance as Mr. Tengu turned his head and looked over the railing.

"Luffy!"

Worry was embedded in his voice as his eyes widened. But they quickly narrowed as he turned back to face her, reaching into the satchel on his hips and pulling out a familiar slingshot.

"Let him go!"

He pulled as far back as the rubber bands would allow as he aimed the black pellet within the leather pad at her. Behind him, she could hear the sounds of battle on the main deck. Straw Hat Luffy was truly giving his comrades a fight for their lives as he held nothing back; her abilities had easy control over the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.

She stared right at Mr. Tengu with unblinking eyes.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon."

Her emotionless reply irritated Mr. Tengu, but he still held back from shooting her. And the reason why he did not shoot was because he was afraid. Despite  _trying_ to look intimidating, it was easy to tell that this whole situation—that she—scared him. His legs quivered as sweat, not as much as before but still noticeable to her eyes, descended down his forehead.

"Wh-how are you even here?! I thought Carue and Luffy defeated you and that wax guy?"

The moment he finished, a loud squawk echoed through the ship as splinters of wood shoot into the air, some almost hitting her. And the ship once again shook.

"Perhaps you all should have done a better job in making sure  _every one_  of your enemies was down?"

She heard him click his tongue. Mr. Tengu muttered something under his breath that sounded like "damn it, why me?" as he took a step back.

A thought suddenly struck her as she was staring at him.

"Is it safe to say that you people were the ones that took my Senbei?"

Mr. Tengu gulped, and that was more than enough of an answer for her.

"Are there any left?"

Another gulp as more sweat descended down his face.

Her eyes narrowed at his lack of response. Of course, they selfishly ate them all. Of course, they denied her from eating her favorite snack. At least she could still make green tea if she made it through this.

"Do-Don't think I'm scared of you!"

She did not think that. She knew that. Mr. Tengu eyes turned into a glare as he let out a shaky breath.

"I-If you think I'll let continue to let you hurt my friends-!"

"Technically, it's your captain that has been hurting them so far."

Another roar from the rubber man was followed by a shout of "God damn it Luffy! Again!?" as she heard one of the women scream.

"Then you have another thing coming!"

His glare became harsher as it looked like he was about to launch his ammo.

"The Great, Captain Ussop won't let you paint another of your symbols on any-."

"Does 'the Great Captain Ussop' know that he is already in one of my Color Traps?"

Her expression was still blank as Mr. Tengu's face drained of all color. His quivering grew worse as his expression became consumed by fear. He slowly looked down at the floor he was standing on…

And saw nothing.

Because she had been lying. And that lie provided the perfect distraction.

**"Colors Trap: Laughter Yellow!"**

With a quick dab of the yellow paint on her palette, she swung her brush in swift strokes as another circular symbol appeared in the air before blasting forward. The coward immediately brought his head up just in time to see her symbol hit him in the center of his brown overalls. And in an instant, a bright yellow symbol was etched onto his clothing.

He stood still for a moment, and once again she felt another rush enter her body before vanishing.

"Pfft."

Mr. Tengu let out a sharp exhale; and second later, he was laughing his head off.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The long-nosed man clutched his sides with both arms as his knees hit the wooden floor planks underneath the doorway. As his laughter got louder, he fell onto the floor with his chest as she saw tears brimming in the corner of his eyes.

"Damn it."

She turned around and saw Mr. Dartboard Brow struggling to move. His body was once again shaking as he grit his teeth.

"It's useless to try and escape."

She began to walk towards the doorway, eyes glancing towards her palette as she checked to see how much paint she had left. Hmm, probably enough for a few more Color Traps, maybe eight at most. She had not found her backpack while searching the island, so the only paint she had left was the paint already on her palette.

"Once you have truly succumbed to the effects of my Colors Trap, you cannot break out of them by yourself."

Her explanation was bland—practically bored—as she hopped over the laughing Mr. Tengu; who now seemed to be in pain from all of his laughing as he let out small gasps. Once she was outside, she closed the door behind her, abruptly cutting off Mr. Tengu's laughter as she left the two Straw Hat Pirates. She moved towards the railing and then looked down at the people fighting on the deck.

A large crevice ran through the center of the ship, shattered planks awkwardly sticking out from within the hull. Near the small fissure, Straw Hat Luffy was snarling as he charged forward towards Roronoa Zoro—who held two swords in both hands—before pulling his arms back and stretching them behind him. He had expanded the length of his arms to the point where Princess Nefertari Vivi and Ms. Orange Hair had to throw themselves to one side in order avoid getting hit, almost hitting the railings at the foredeck of the ship as they hit the floor.

**"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"**

His arms snapped back, traveling at high speeds as he hurled them forward. The limbs were sent towards the swordsman, who quickly raised his swords into an x-shape cross to block the rubber attack. Two open palms slammed into his swords—she was sure she saw blood when they made contact—and the force lifted Roronoa Zoro off his feet and sent him flying backward. He crashed through the wooden wall of the cannon deck below her, a large hole now present as dust rose into the air.

"Zoro!"

"Mr. Bushido!"

Her eyes glanced towards the foredeck as Ms. Orange Hair and the princess ran down the stairs to the main deck. Straw Hat let out another shout as he ran towards the hole, and once close enough, jumped through it and into the cabin. She heard more snarls and swords slicing the air, and it was not hard to imagine what was going on in that cabin.

"Luffy, what in the hell do you think you're doing!"

Ms. Orange Hair glared at the hole her captain had went through as she clenched the even harder on the staff in her hands. Her expression was growing angrier by the second, but there was something else there as well. There was concern beneath the anger, and a worried gleam in her eyes as she wondered why her captain was attacking her and the rest of their crew.

It made sense that they did not know what exactly was going on. Scarlet Hatred was painted on Monkey D. Luffy's vest and blended in rather well with the red of said clothing. One would have to look rather hard at his vest to see the symbol. To them, their captain had gone insane for seemingly no reason.

"Nami, I don't think-."

Princess Nefertari's eyes darted across the ship, trying to see if perhaps something was amiss. That maybe something had caused Monkey D. Luffy to act like he was now.

And when the princess' black eyes eventually landed on her standing right behind the balustrades, Nefertari found the cause.

"Miss Goldenweek!?"

Ms. Orange Hair eyebrows shot up when princess Nefertari shouted. She followed the Nefertari's gaze, and the other woman's eyes widen when they locked onto her.

"Hello, princess."

She gave a small wave with her hand as both princess and pirate's eyes shifted into glares.

"Well, that explains a few things."

Ms. Orange hair took a step forward, and the noise from the cannon room seemed to get louder. Remembering what she saw back on Little Garden, she was reasonably sure that Roronoa Zoro would either lose or at the very least be stalled for a while. Of course, there was a chance that he might figure out what was causing his captain's violent behavior.

So…

Her eyes narrowed at the two women on the deck. Princess Nefertari took out two long wires with a sharp green jewel at the end that looked like a peacock feather as she placed the ring connecting to the wires on her pinkies. And Ms. Orange Hair raised her staff and pointed it right at her.

She should probably take care of these two as quickly as possible.

She expertly twirled the paintbrush in her hand.

This time she would not be careless.

"Princess Nefertari Vivi, I don't suppose there is any chance that you will come quietly with me? It would save me a lot of work."

The princess' glare became harsher.

"And let you kill my friends?"

She began to twirl the wires—Peacock Slashers if she recalled—and they looked like green blurs spinning in the air.

"I'd rather die."

She had expected something along those lines. She let out a small sigh.

"I can assure you, princess; it will not be  _you_ dying today."

She was already bringing her palette up as the two women tensed. There were about sixty feet from the part of the main deck they stood on to the quarterdeck where she waited. They would have to get close if they wanted to hurt her—since neither of their weapons could reach her accurately from so far away—so with her Color Traps she had the advantage. She just had to be careful and make sure to only strike when she felt they could not dodge or else she would run out of paint and then it would be over for her. But since it was just the two of them-.

Wait a minute.

Mr. Tengu and Mr. Dartboard Brow were behind her in the lounge, and the captain was still fighting the swordsman…

But…where was the duc-?

"SQUAA!"

Her head whipped behind her the moment she heard that scream, and just in time to see the duck jump through the trees on the roof of the lounge. The orange animal was falling through the air right towards her, its head already inches away from hitting her.

She reacted quickly and dived to the side, just barely dodging the duck before it could crash into her. But just before she could get out of its range, the duck thrust its wing to the palette in her hands. And when the wing slammed into her trusted tool, her palette was knocked out of her grip and sent spinning into the air.

Shit.

She went into a roll the moment she hit the floor, holding onto her paintbrush and almost going over the staircase nearby; but she stood up in time to avoid tumbling down the steps. She turned around to see the duck land right on top of the railing, flailing its wings in an effort to stop itself from going over the edge as it quacked in fear. Her eyes were glancing in every direction trying to find her palette, and after a few seconds, she did.

All the way across from her at the other end of the deck.

"Nice job Carue!"

She turned and saw the princess and Ms. Orange Hair running towards her, already almost halfway to the stairs.

She did not waste another moment. She ran towards her palette, but before she had taken even three steps, the duck jumped down from the railing and stood right in front of her.

"Squa."

She supposed that it had tried to make its high-pitched call sound scary, going by the way its' eyes turned into a harsh glare. Too bad the fact that it was a  _duck_ made being intimidating next to impossible.

She prepared to go to the right, but the duck saw what she was trying to do and quickly hopped to its left and blocked her path. She tried to fake like she was running to the left, but the duck immediately saw through her feint and remained in its spot.

"Squa!"

This time it was quacking with more ferocity than before.

Damn it. She needed to hurry. A glance behind her and she saw that the two women were already at the base of the stairs. She needed to get past this duck, but as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't beat it in a fight. It was too strong. In fact, she was almost positive that it was stronger than the average hum-.

She suddenly came up with an idea. Behind her she could hear the princess and her friend running up the stairs.

"Hey."

"Squa?"

The duck's head cocked to the right when she spoke and pointed a wing at itself. All the previous anger from its expression had disappeared in an instant and was replaced by curiosity.

"Yes, you. I have a question."

It tilted its head further as it raised an eyebrow. Or, whatever ducks had that were the equivalent of eyebrows.

Behind her, the two women arrived near the top of the stairs, both their weapons ready to strike her.

"Do all chickens in Alabasta have ridiculous sized beaks or are you just a freak accident?"

She asked her question in a monotone voice. For a moment, the duck stood completely still.

And then anger returned to its expression; this time twice as big.

"SQUAAA!"

The duck jumped towards her, nothing but rage in its eyes as it extended its wings to try and strangle her neck. And were she anyone else, her lips might have moved into a small grin at the absolutely ridiculous expression the duck wore.

But they did not; instead, they were still in a thin line as she hit the deck as fast as she could. Her body sprawled on the wooden planks, she glanced behind her just in time to see the duck careening right towards the princess and pirate.

"GAH!"

Ms. Orange Hair was able to dodge the flying duck, quickly moving to the side and grabbing the railing with a scream as the duck passed her.

Princess Nefertari was not so fortunate. The duck hit her right in the center of her forehead with its own head and a loud smack echoed through the ship. She was sure she saw tears brimming both her and the duck's eyes as their pupils rolled up into their sockets.

And then gravity took effect, and they both fell back down the stair. Every time their bodies hit the steps, she saw Ms. Orange Hair wince as she watched in concern. Eventually, the sound of bodies hitting wood stopped and Ms. Orange Hair looked down at the base of the steps.

"Oh…she's going to feel that one in the morning."

"Probably."

Her blank voice made Ms. Orange Hair whip her head towards her. She had already gotten up from the floor and was sprinting as fast as she could towards her palette.

"Hey, wait!"

Yeah, she would wait just because you asked so nicely.

Ms. Orange Hair was right on her heels as she got closer and closer to her palette. But being much shorter than her, Ms. Orange Hair was able to close the distance between them thanks to her longer stride.

Just a little bit more…

She was about ten feet away from her palette when Ms. Orange Hair finally caught up to her, raising her staff with both hands above her head.

"Gotcha!"

She swung the staff low in a horizontal arc, aiming to sweep her legs out from under her. If it hit, there was no doubt that would be it. She would be at the mercy of Ms. Orange Hair and most likely be killed.

But she did not really feel like dying today.

She lunged forward, just barely jumping over the staff as it was inches away from her legs. She flew through the air and once she was within reach, grabbed her palette. Just before she hit the ground, she dabbed her paintbrush on the blue paint before twisting her body to face Ms. Orange Hair.

**"Colors Trap: Sadness Blue!"**

She painted the symbol in the air and launched it forward just as her back crashed against the railings behind her, the bruises on her body stinging from the impact. Ms. Orange Hair tried to dodge her attack, but she was too slow as Sadness Blue became etched on her abdomen.

A rush went through her as she slowly got up. Ms. Orange Hair was still for a second.

Then tears began to well up in her eyes.

Then her body began to tremble.

And then she promptly fell to her knees, slouched forward and raised her fist before slamming it down onto the wooden planks. All while sobbing uncontrollably.

"Damn it! I couldn't even take down a prepubescent brat! How useless am I?! Just how much do I suck!? Can someone who fails so much even be classified as a human being!?"

Her half-closed eyes watched as Ms. Orange Hair began to slam her fist on to the floor over and over again as her sobbing grew. All while muttering things like "My existence is even lower than a grain of sand on a beach." or "Science can't even quantify just how much of a waste of space I am."

…Huh. This was different. The sobbing part she had expected, but the negative rants were something new. Was her body already in a weakened state that allowed Sadness Blue to be even stronger than usual? Or did her Colors Trap tap into Ms. Orange Hair's own sorrow and amplify its effects?

She looked down at the palette and brush in her hands.

If it was indeed the latter option, then that opened up new possibilities. Perhaps she should change her symbol a bit so that it could access more of her target's own emotions and then make them stronger. But wait, no, that might not work. She would have to know in advance someone's emotional state, and things like sadness would be rather hard to tell by just looking at someone. Her design for Sadness Blue had always been meant to  _evoke_ emotions, not manipulate already existing ones.

Though perhaps-?

She shook her head. Those were questions for later. For now…

She moved around the now clinically depressed pirate—her mutterings had been growing more morbid by the second—and walked towards the steps on the side of the quarterdeck. She looked down and saw Princess Nefertari Vivi lying on the wooden deck with her duck laying on top of her. A large, dark bruise was on her forehead and her eyes were closed shut. She seemed to be unconscious, while the duck was moaning as it rubbed the side of its head with one wing.

As she walked down the stairs, she dabbed her brush to the last bits of yellow paint left on her palette.

**"Laughter Yellow."**

Her emotionless words were once again spoken in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

A few strokes against the air and a yellow symbol was blasting through the air before hitting the duck on the back of its blue hat. And then the duck promptly rolled off the princess and started laughing.

"Squahaha!"

Its wings wrapped around its stomach as it continued to roll back and forth on the wooden deck. Once she reached the bottom of the steps, she walked on the wooden planks towards the unconscious princess. She then dipped her brush in black paint and moved her arm.

**"Colors Trap: Betrayal Black."**

The black symbol became etched on her forehead. And with this, she had taken out at three of the Straw Hats as well as the Princess and her pet.

There were only Roronoa Zoro and Monkey D. Luffy left. Just two more. That was-.

There was a loud crash that came from behind her. Whirling around, she saw the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates skidding on the deck a good distance away. After several seconds, he eventually came to a stop; Straw Hat was now on his knees and panting slightly, a bit of blood dripping down his face from several cuts.

And his vest had been sliced apart, looking like it had just gotten chewed up by a Sea King. Her Colors Trap had been torn to ribbons in the process.

"Do you still wanna keep going?!"

Roronoa Zoro stepped through the hole—which was even larger than before—as he let out a small growl. He slowly walked toward his captain, both of his swords pointed down as he let out several long breaths. A small trail of blood ran down his mouth and she could see dark bruises near the side of his head. His entire focus was on Monkey D. Luffy, not even noticing her presence.

She was not about to let this opportunity slip.

Her brush was already on her palette.

**"Colors Trap-."**

Monkey D. Luffy heard her voice, even though it was so soft, and his head immediately whipped towards the stairs. His eyes widened once he saw her before he turned back to face his swordsman.

"Shit! Zoro, look out!"

"Huh?"

But by the time he had spoken, she had already finished drawing her symbol.

_**"** _ **Tranquil Green!"**

Her Colors Trap shot through the air in a diagonal line, and when it was more than halfway across the deck, the swordsman turned his head in her general direction and saw the attack racing towards him. His eyes widened as he quickly brought his two swords up to guard—one sword crossed in front of the other—not having enough time to dodge.

Her symbol hit the frontmost sword, the one with the black handle. The moment it made contact it shrank as it etched itself into the width of the katana. Even though it had become much smaller, she could still see the green now painted on the katana as she saw Roronoa go still.

And then the swordsman slowly lowered his swords to his sides.

"You damn midget."

She saw him gritting his teeth as his muscles began to bulge. He seemed to be fighting with his mouth as it went from a smile to a deep frown every other second. He was trying to move, but his body was locked in place. While he was far from tranquil, it was obvious he was still under the effects of her Color Trap. He had enough mental fortitude to somewhat resist the effects, but with time, that would change. And no matter how strong his mind was, the only thing he could do right now was stand completely still.

"Zoro, what are you doing!? Drop your sword!"

"He can't."

Monkey D. Luffy turned to her, snarling.

"What do you mean?"

Her hollow black eyes looked right into Straw Hat's furious irises.

"My Colors Trap makes it impossible for someone to either wipe off the paint by themselves or to let go of any object that bears the symbol. Once it infiltrates their minds, it gives them a silent order to never,  _ever,_ try to do anything to either remove the paint from their bodies or whatever object its painted on. Once they get hit, they cannot even try to get rid of the symbols painted on other people. The command is that powerful."

She glanced to the sobbing narrator on the quarterdeck. To the duck currently laughing its head off and the princess right next to it. And then her eyes rested on Roronoa who was glaring at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Roronoa and every comrade of yours that have been painted cannot do anything to my Color Traps."

She really wanted a rice cracker right now. Doing boring exposition always left her craving for one.

She looked back towards the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, who was glaring at her as his lips moved into a deep scowl.

"You are the last one. Once I get you, I win."

Straw Hat Luffy continued to glare at her. She felt her body tense as she tried to come up with a plan of attack. She glanced at the palette in her hand. She was out of Laughter Yellow, Betrayal Black and Sadness Blue; there were only small drops of blue, black and yellow left on the palette. Of her remaining paint, she had about enough for two Bullfight Reds and two Tranquil Greens for a total of four Colors Traps. She wasn't sure if she could hit Straw Hat with so few Traps remaining. He was fast, and unlike on Little Garden, he would be expecting her attack so-.

She stopped as she heard someone moaning. A glance and she saw the princess stirring from her sleep as her eyes slowly opened.

What excellent timing.

"Then all I have to do is kick your ass and then get rid of those things myself!"

Straw Hat Luffy clenched his right fist before bringing it up to his head. He then raised one leg and began to pull his arm back.

**"Gomu Gomu-."**

"Princess Nefertari Vivi, would you mind standing up?"

Her interruption caused Straw Hat Luffy to pause in his attack, confused.

"Wha-?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The captain turned his head in the direction of the new voice. She turned her head as well and saw Princess Nefertari getting to her feet, albeit somewhat shakily. She moved around the still laughing duck—who by this point was gasping for air—and faced both of them. The princess' right eye was twitching, but the rest of her expression was neutral, her face void of any and all emotions.

"Vivi?"

"Back on Little Garden, you experienced this Colors Trap before, Straw Hat Luffy. Colors Trap: Betrayal Black. It's one of my most powerful techniques."

She was still staring at the princess, but she knew that the captain of the Straw Hat's was staring at her. Waiting to find out what she was doing to the princess.

"If someone were to grab an object or step on a surface painted with it, then they would do the exact opposite of what they wanted to do. For example, you  _wanted_  to save your friends back on that island, but Betrayal Black twisted your emotions so that you  _did not_ want to save them. And if someone were to give you an order, then you would do the exact opposite of what they asked."

She slowly turned her head to face them. Half-lidded eyes that held nothing stared right into his Straw Hat's black.

"But, if I were to draw the symbol directly on the person, the effects would change. They would no longer move, and they would not do the opposite of someone's command anymore."

She turned her head to stare at the princess.

"Instead, they would now follow my every order. So long as they either distrust or do not like me, I can make them do anything I want for as long as Betrayal Black is painted on them. For example…"

She took a second to consider her words.

"Princess Nefertari Vivi, jump."

The moment those words left her mouth, the heir of Alabasta did a little jump.

"What the-?"

"Now, do a twirl."

Before Straw Hat could finish, she gave another command as the princess spun on the spot.

"Take out your Peacock Slasher and hold the jewel part with your fingers."

The princess pulled out the wire and grabbed as she had instructed her to.

"What are you doing?"

She turned to face Straw Hat Luffy as his eyes turned into a glare. He was getting impatient and was just barely restraining from launching an attack, both of his fists clenched.

"Just showing you that Princess Nefertari Vivi will follow my every command. No matter what I say, she will do it. Even if I were to say something like…"

Her expression remained emotionless as she stared into Straw Hat Luffy's eyes. Eyes that were rising with anger with every second.

And her next words would make it so much worse.

"Princess Vivi, slit your wrists."

Straw Hat Luffy's eyes widened.

"Yes Ma'am."

"No!"

"Vivi!"

Along with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro was the only other person to shout. For a moment, the duck that had been laughing on the floor for a moment stopped; its eyes widening as it let out a desperate squawk choked with fear. Ms. Orange Hair—who had at some point gathered the strength to lean on the railing of the quarterdeck despite her depression—stopped sobbing for a second as her eyes became wide with horror.

All while Princess Nefertari Vivi slowly brought the jewel tipped weapon down to her wrist.

"STOP!"

Straw Hat Luffy ran to her, jumping over the large crevice on the ship and crossing half the distance between them in an instant as he roared. His voice held a fiery rage that was even greater than the anger filled shout he had given a moment ago. Black irises that would have intimidated grown men—she knew because Mr. 3 had given glares that made others tremble and yet his gaze was nothing compared to Straw Hat's—glared right at her.

And she kept staring at him with the same empty expression and emotionless, half-lidded eyes.

"Princess Nefertari Vivi, stop."

"Yes ma'am."

Her words caused Straw Hat to stop right in his tracks. His eyes were wide with shock, not expecting her to actually listen as he whipped his head towards the princess; who was holding the green jewel of her weapon inches away from her wrist.

"Straw Hat Luffy…"

Straw Hat's eyes immediately turned to her, rage returning to his expression as he looked ready to charge at her again.

But her next words prevented him from doing that.

"If you do anything to harm me, then Princess Nefertari Vivi will cut her throat instead of her wrist. And she will not stop until she has lost all of her blood."

His eyes widened, all of his rage disappearing as she turned her head to the princess.

"Understood, Princess Nefertari Vivi?"

The princess moved the jewel tip so that it was pressed right against her neck, a small cut now forming on her skin.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good."

She turned back to face Straw Hat's shocked, and just a tad fearful, expression.

"Now then, here is what you are going to do. You are going to stand completely still as I paint Colors Trap: Tranquil Green onto your stomach. If you do that, the princess will not slice her throat open."

And that was the captain of the Straw Hat's biggest weakness. His friends. On Little Garden, he had seen just how much he cared for his crew. He would do anything for them. She had seen other captains like him before, and Mr. 3 and herself had come up with several ways to take down big-hearted pirates like him in an instant; that way they did not have to work so hard. Most of them involved threatening the crew of the said kind captain and telling him to either kill himself or watch them slaughter his crew.

And every time so far it worked. And afterward, she and Mr. 3 would deal with the remaining pirates.

Straw Hat Luffy's expression became conflicted, so much so that she could almost see him fighting with himself to come up with a decision. Sweat began to drip down his head as he looked from her to the princess. But she knew what his choice would be.

"Luffy…she's bluffing!"

Straw Hat Luffy's head turned towards Roronoa Zoro the moment the swordsman shouted. He still remained in the same spot—still clearly trying to escape her Colors Trap, going by the way his body was shaking—and was not even facing them. But from the corner of his eye he watched both her and his captain.

"She needs Vivi! If she doesn't take her back to that croc bastard, then her life's as good as over!"

Croc bastard? Was he referring to her boss? The Straw Hat Pirates did know his identity, after all.

"Oh yeah, you're right!"

Straw Hat's eyes widen before they instantly narrowed, fist clenched and arm shaking as he took a step towards her. He was about to attack. One moment away from turning her into a bloody pulp.

Too bad she would not let him.

"Well, either way I'm dead, so why wouldn't I kill her?"

Her emotionless voice made Straw Hat pause again. He stared at her with his black eyes, wondering what she meant.

"Right now, I have nothing to lose. Right now, I am dead. Dead since I cannot harm the princess due to my orders, and as a result, you will 'kick my ass.' And dead because if I do harm the princess, who is currently my only leverage, then my boss will still send someone to kill me. Since I have nothing left to lose.."

Unfeeling eyes—eyes that she knew showed just how serious she was— looked stared right into Straw Hat's. Unafraid, emotionless, and absolutely  _empty_ even though she had so much at stake.

And that was what made them so scary.

"I might as well piss him off from beyond the grave. Since he's the reason I'm in this mess, I might as well kill the person he wants if I'm going to die. It'd be the ultimate revenge, don't you think?"

Straw Hat Luffy's fist were still shaking, but this time there was something else in addition to the anger in his eyes. There was a hesitance within them that told him she was not bluffing. That his friend's life was in danger, and if he didn't accept her demands, she would die.

And it would be his fault.

"So, what is it going to be, Straw Hat Luffy? Are you going to beat me like you did to Mr. 3 and kill Princess Nefertari Vivi, or do we have an agreement?"

Straw Hat Luffy let out a growl. His entire body was trembling as he glared at her. His teeth were gritted as he prevented himself from screaming at her. Straw Hat wanted to punch her…but he knew he could not.

Slowly, he opened his mouth to say something-.

"Luffy."

-but paused when Roronoa Zoro said his name. He turned to look at the swordsman, and she did the same. Straw Hat had a better angle on him than she did, so he could probably see his face whereas she could only see the corner of his eyes.

For a moment, he just stared at Roronoa Zoro. He did not say anything, and neither did his crewmate. There was only silence between the two.

And then, Straw Hat Luffy broke his gaze with his crewmate and stared back at her. Any anger in his expression was gone. Now, he looked perfectly calm.

"Okay, I'll do it."

She blinked. His sudden agreement seemed…strange.

"Just stand still, right? And you won't hurt Vivi?"

Her eyes narrowed. This seemed too easy. Was he going to try something? He looked like he was being honest—and she had gotten extraordinarily good at reading people over the years—and she did not see any deceit in his words or expression…but there was always a chance that she could be wrong; no matter how unlikely it may seem.

"I changed my mind. Get on your stomach and do not move."

He did as he was told. And the moment his stomach touched the wooden deck, she moved.

**"Tranquil Green."**

With those soft words, a green symbol blasted through the air before painting itself onto the back of Straw Hat's ripped vest. And just like that, she had gotten every single Straw Hat into a Color Trap.

Her bluff had worked...

Her eyes were still narrowed at the captain of the Straw Hats.

...or so it seemed.

Why did she suddenly feel like this was not the end of her fight? Could Straw Hat be planning something? Could this man actually have thought of a plan while looking at his crewmate? Or perhaps his crewmate had silently told him a way for him to defeat her by just staring at him? It did not seem likely, but she could not assume anything. She had to make sure that this was not a trick.

That Straw Hat Luffy still didn't have an ace up his sleeve.

She slowly walked towards the seemingly still form of Straw Hat, clenching tightly on the brush and palette in her hands as she got closer. She had to be sure. Remember, never assume anything. This man could be plotting something. He could-.

When she was about ten feet away from Straw Hat, she heard it.

Snoring.

She looked down at Straw Hat. Was he really...?

Once she got closer, she grabbed a handful of his locks—still holding her paintbrush as she did so just in case—and lifted his head up to face her.

And she saw his eyes were closed, a trail of drool running from the corner of his mouth. A large bubble of snot was blowing from his nose and a grin—a big, dumb, stupid looking grin—stretched across his face.

Tranquil Green was supposed to make whoever fell under its effects calm and relaxed. It was not supposed to make whoever she hit sleep. The only way that could happen was if the person who now wore her symbol had such weak mental resistance that her Colors Trap could manipulate them with ease. The weaker the person's mind was, the stronger the effects would be. And even when she added the fact that Straw Hat Luffy had willing allowed her Colors Trap into his mind, there still should have been  _some_ subconscious resistance to prevent the symbol from being this effective. So that left her with one question.

The snoring grew louder and the snot bubble got even bigger.

…Just how dumb was he?

She let go of his hair as his head hit the deck with a light smacking sound. She then looked around the ship. To the crying Ms. Orange Hair who was once again slumped near the railing on the quarterdeck. To the duck that was no longer laughing due to  _literally_ running out of air, now unconscious on the floor with a wide smile. To the various holes, the long crevice and other such destruction Monkey D. Luffy had made on the ship when under the control of Scarlet Hatred. To Roronoa Zoro whose head was bowed and mouth now a firm line as his body shook.

To finally, the princess, who was still pointing her jewel weapon against her neck. The princess who was completely under her control. Who was no longer being protected from the Straw Hats because she beat them.

She won. She had done what no other agent in Baroque Works, even her own partner, had ever accomplished.

Awesome.

"You can put your weapon away now."

"Yes ma'am."

As Princess Nefertari put her weapon back in her pockets, she looked towards the sleeping captain.

"I suppose it is only fitting that you be the first one I kill."

"No!"

She turned her head up to Ms. Orange Hair, who was struggling to get up as she glared at her through trails of tears. She got about halfway up before her glare faded, all the intensity vanishing in a second. Whatever outrage that was in her had been extinguished in an instant by her Color Trap as Ms. Orange Hair collapsed back onto the floor as her sobbing doubled; Ms. Orange Hair's eyes once again drowning in misery and sorrow.

She glanced back to the captain. She supposed she should find something sharp to kill him, rubber body and all that. The knives she saw in the kitchen might work, and she could kill Mr. Dartboard Brow and Mr. Tengu as she-.

There was a clanging sound to her right. She turned and saw that Roronoa had dropped the katana with the white handle; the one with the Color Trap was still firmly in his hand. He dropped his very sharp, very deadly katana.

That would do.

She slowly walked towards Roronoa, hopping over the crevice and letting out a sigh.

Finally. She was done. She had worked harder in the last ten minutes then she had in the last month. And now, she could rest. Now, once she got rid of the Straw Hat's, she could go sip tea and treat her bruises.

She was about ten feet away from Roronoa. She looked at his face—at his shaking, at the way he was glaring at her—before glancing to the remaining sword he still held. There wasn't a smudge on Tranquil Green. Perhaps she was just being a tad paranoid, but once again she remembered all the lessons she had learned from her time as an agent. And how Straw Hat Luffy looked at Roronoa before accepting her offer.

Her eyes narrowed at the swordsman.

It's not paranoia if your life's actually at stake.

She stared right into his eyes. As if she expected him to leap towards her and cut her heart out. As if he could somehow do what no else had. Her grip on her paintbrush and palette tightened as she prepared herself for anything.

But after a few moments, she realized that even though he was shaking, even though he  _clearly_ wanted to cut her to shreds, he could not. He could only glare at her with eyes that had nothing but rage—a truly incredible amount of rage—that could bit ever be released.

Because just like everyone else…

She slowly walked towards the sword on the ground. She placed her paintbrush in the left pocket of her skirt as she extended her arm towards the white hilted blade.

...he couldn't break out of her-.

A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist just as her fingers were inches away from his sword. Pain shot through her body from the strength of the grip, but something overwhelmed that sensation.

Shock.

It took everything she had to keep her mouth from dropping open. Unfortunately, she couldn't do the same for her eyes as they widened to the size of saucers.

There was no way.

Her eyes quickly darted to the sword he still held in his hand, and the green symbol was still there.

This was impossible.

Her gaze moved up to look at his face.

And she saw him smirking at her, veins bulging near his forehead.

"Surprised?"

She felt all of her breath escape her. She felt her body go still as for one moment—no longer than a second—she thought about running as far away from this impossible man in front of her.

But then she remembered her mission. She still had control. She could get out of this. She had control.

"Let go of me!"

Tranquil Green was still in effect, she knew it was. She saw his body was still shaking, his expression visibly struggling to maintain that arrogant smirk. He was somehow fighting against her abilities, but she could tell it was taking everything she had to act out against them. With her sudden scream, it should be enough to push him back under the effects of Tranquil Green.

She felt his grip loosen, his smirk wavering back into a relaxed smile.

Yes. Yes, just a little bit-!

And a second later his grip was just as tight as before. His smirk was gone, but in its place was a vicious snarl.

A snarl that suddenly looked familiar to her. A snarl that looked like-.

No, stop it. It wasn't...She wasn't facing-.

"I…don't think so…midget!"

His grip got tighter. She heard her bones crack as she grit her teeth. The pain was growing worse—this man's strength was staggering—and she struggled to think of a way to free her hand.

"Do-don't-I-da-damn it, let go already!"

She stuttered. She tried to remain calm, but she couldn't. Not when this man had done something that no one—not even his own captain—had done in the past. It didn't make any sense. This shouldn't be happening. This  _couldn't_ be happening and yet, somehow it was.

For a second, Rorona's face looked like it was changing; like someone else was slowly replacing Rornoa inch by inch and was giving her a familiar and an  _absolutely horrifying_ -.

God damn it, stop thinking like that!

She watched as he bit his tongue—hard enough to cause a small bit of blood to leak from his mouth—as his glare became all the more violent.

"Not…happening!"

He was shaking as she tried to think of some way to escape. But he wasn't listening to her orders, so what-?

She looked at the brush in her left pocket.

Of course! If she painted another Colors Trap on him, then the shock of having yet another presence invade his mind should be enough to let her go.

She threw her palette to her still trapped left hand, fingers just grabbing it by its edge, as she immediately reached for the brush with her right hand. Just grab the brush and then-.

Suddenly the force and her wrist increased. Before she had just heard her bones crack. Now, she heard them shatter.

"AAH!"

The pain caused her to fall to her knees, dropping the palette as she did so.

"Like…I said...I ain't letting you go!"

She looked up to glare at him.

And once again felt all her breath escape her. It was only now that she realized just why Straw Hat had allowed himself to be placed under her Color Trap. Because one look into Roronoa Zoro's eyes, and the captain knew he could handle the situation without his help.

One look at damn  _demon,_  and he knew he didn't have anything to worry about.

She was trembling.

"You threaten my crew…"

The pure hatred she saw in his face was enough to make her heat start hammering in her ears. The rage in his eyes—like a great inferno—told her what this demon was about to do to her.

For another moment, Roronoa's face once again changed to...to...

Oh, God…

"You hurt our ship _…"_

He took a step forward. And she wanted to scramble and run away. To get out of this ship and never return. But it would be useless.

Because she had made the very grave mistake of pissing Roronoa off.

"And most of all…"

He glanced to the white hilted sword on the ground. And then, his eyes became bloodthirsty. They radiated so much cruelty that it pierced whatever part of her that wasn't absolutely terrified already. She felt like she was being suffocated as air refused to enter her lungs.

"You have the  _balls_ to try and use  _my swords_  to kill my friends!?"

Rorona's rage, his gaze, the cruelty in his eyes, his entire posture suddenly brought her back to...to...

Only one man on the planet had scared her more than Roronoa, and now because of him she could only see that man's face. A man who she always tried to forget, but like a small smudge in one of her paintings, she could never truly ignore him. He would always be there, lurking in her mind; especially when she was afraid. He was a man who had been able to kill her will to live with just his gaze.

Roronoa was not as scary as that  _monster._

But by God—in this moment—he was a close second.

"Like hell I'd let you do something..."

She felt an insanely powerful force pull her up into the air, and she was almost thankful for that because she no longer saw  _him_. The demon in front of her then let her go as she floated in the air for a moment.

And then he dropped the sword with her Colors Trap on it. Before gravity could take its toll, a large fist slammed into her cheek with the force of a cannon. Blood jetted out of her mouth as left eye roared with pain.

"AS DISGUSTING AS THAT!"

She screamed as all of her previous injuries seemed like nothing to the new pain she felt. Her body careened over the deck of the ship—her hat having flown off her head at some point—as her screams grew louder with every moment.

Until they abruptly stopped as her body suddenly felt very wet; her clothes instantly became soaked.

Because she had fallen right into the sea.

She heard the splash her impact had made as she began to sink, the lights from the sun becoming obscured by the water's surface.

She was not a Devil Fruit User, contrary to what many of her enemies had believed. She could swim, and both large bodies of water and Sea-Prism Stone did not affect her in the slightest. She was a regular human being who didn't become a hammer in water.

Unfortunately, that was only under normal circumstances. As in, circumstances when she hadn't been hit hard enough for her head to start ringing. Darkness began to rise in the corner of her eyes. She tried to move her body, she tried to ignore the pain and swim as fast as she could to the surface...but she couldn't. Her limbs were locked and her body refused to listen to her as the ringing grew louder. And darkness kept rising with every second as the light from the surface grew farther.

So…this would be how she would die. She had never really thought about  _how_ she would die, she just knew that it would probably be painful. And considering that drowning was one of the most painful deaths out there—Mr. 3 and several books she read had supported that fact—she was right in that regard.

She felt her conscious slipping deeper and deeper into the growing darkness. The blood leaving her mouth traveled upwards to the surface in wispy red lines.

Damn…she'd kill for one last rice cracker. If she would have had just one, she could honestly say she'd have no regrets dying here and now. Her favorite food would remind her of better times before her heart would stop beating.

Emotionless black eyes began to slowly close. She could feel the water beginning to enter her lungs as she sunk deeper—the light above looked so appealing now. To her, it honestly looked…beautiful. A single shining light in a growing abyss of darkness would have made for an excellent painting. But as much as she wanted to draw this moment—to do her best to capture this beauty—she couldn't.

If she could've sighed, she would've.

Just as her eyes were almost fully closed and the darkness almost blinded her, she saw something pierce the light above her. She saw something traveling towards her, and for a moment—to her, it looked like a hand, reaching out to try and grab her.

Heh…yeah right.

Why would anyone save  _her_?

Her eyes fully closed as she allowed her mind to freely descend into the void.

_**Report 001: Completed** _


	2. Goldenweek's Report 002: Not Quite Dead

Her body was in so much pain.

Miss Goldenweek let out a moan as she rolled around in…something. She couldn't tell what exactly; the pain she felt was clouding her senses. She tried to open her eyes, but her mind protested that action. Her body was in too much pain to do anything, even something as simple as opening her eyes. She suddenly wanted to sleep and just spend the rest of the day like this. Resting. Relaxing as her body healed itself. It had been a while since she had gotten hurt this badly.

She once again rolled around in whatever it was she was lying on.

She was sure Mr. 3 would understand. Considering how sometimes he let her nap for as long as she wanted on missions, he would probably be fine with her spending the rest of the day in this…bed?

She rolled again.

Yeah. Definitely a bed. It was far too soft and comfy to be anything else.

She was injured this time too, so her partner should be fine with her skipping whatever work they might have to do today. She wouldn't be much use to him if she couldn't even move, and who knows when the next mission might come so she should rest now and-.

…Wait.

Something…something was wrong with that thought.

She once again tried opening her eyes; this time with more effort despite her pain. She suddenly felt like she was…forgetting something. Like there was something she  _needed_ to know right now.

For a moment, she opened her eyes just a little bit. Everything around her was blurry. It was like the world had been covered in a thick haze while at the same time it shook every second. Her vision was distorted at best—and even just keeping her eyes open proved to be a tiresome task—and she could barely make out anything.

The only thing she could see through her eyes was some kind of brown ceiling.

Her body suddenly began to wail at her to rest. And who was she to deny it such a request? If she had trouble keeping her eyes open, then what-?

Wait.

She had drawn on most of the interior of Mr. 3's ship, mostly because she was bored. There were some areas that she had left alone, but there were certain areas she clearly remembered painting. Namely, any place with a roof she had painted several drawings that she found pleasant to look at. That way, if she ever fell asleep while lying on the floor she could stare up and see something other than a boring roof.

…So where were her drawings?

Her mind—tired, dazed, but still functioning—became active as she  _really_ felt like she was missing something. She knew now that it was something  _important_  she was forgetting. But what was it? Why was it that whenever she thought about her partner she felt a spike of  _something_ rising within her? Like her body was trying to warn her about something, but could not remember what exactly  _it_  was.

She once again tried to open eyes. Once again, her vision was blurry, but it was less so than before. At least, for her right eye. For her left eye, it was only now that she realized she could not see  _anything_ out of. She felt something wrapped around it; something pressed firmly against the skin.

Pushing aside the questions about her lack of vision, for now, she tried to figure out where exactly she was with her remaining eye. She took in the blurred surroundings and tried to see if she recognized where she was; because she knew she was not on Mr. 3's ship. And at the same time, tried to figure out what she forgot that was bothering her so-.

"So, when should she wake up?"

She heard a voice—masculine and deep—and suddenly she felt her body tense. She hadn't meant to, but the moment those words reached her ears she couldn't help but go still.

And suddenly, her memory became somewhat less hazy.

"I can't really say."

A female voice this time. She recognized the voice, but the owner's face escaped her. When she glanced to see who was speaking, she could vaguely make out shapes near what looked like, to her blurry eyes, a staircase that led up towards…something. It was hard to tell.

"One of us should stay here in case she wakes up. We can't leave her unsupervised, even now."

A different female voice spoke, and this one had a bitter edge to her words. And that voice made the ache in her head worse as she was  _so close_ to remembering just what it was she was forgetting. What did this woman—who she  _knew_ , of that she was sure—have to do with her memories?

"Are you sure? I mean… she's kinda… you know..."

The first female voice spoke again, and she could almost see her hesitant expression even with her hazy vision.

"Yes. I'm positive."

The other female's voice had become hard when she spoke again. There was a venom in her words she instantly recognized; so many of Baroque Works' agents held a similar scorn whenever they talked about those above them.

And it was only now that she realized that they were talking about  _her._

"That little bi-."

The voice stopped herself, suddenly trailing off.

"…She's far too dangerous. Even in her current state, under no circumstances should  _any of you_ underestimate her."

She could imagine the eyes that were no doubt in a glare by now as the female voice finished speaking.

Damn it, what was going on? Who was talking about her? Why couldn't she remember what had happened? She was so close; she could feel the memory just at the brink of her mind as she tried to remember.

She had been on… a mission; there was no doubt about that. She and Mr. 3 had been sent on something they both thought would be easy. But then…everything was a blank.

She let out a small hiss—barely audible—as she felt the pain of her injuries rise. But she did her best to ignore them as her one eye narrowed.

One of the shapes seemed to take a few steps away from the rest.

No wait…she was actually starting to recall something.

"Ye-Yeah, I agree. It would be  _really_ bad if she got out. I mean, I could probably handle her, but it's the rest of you I'm worried about."

A fearful voice spoke up, and she knew he was sweating as he talked to the other shapes. But she tried to tune him out as she focused on her memories that were just slightly less hazy than a second before.

She and Mr. 3 had been sent…to a jungle.

She noticed that one of the shapes had begun to move forward, but paid it no mind.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure even  _you_ can handle an injured little girl, Usopp."

She ignored the sarcastic voice—and the indignant cry of "Hey!" that came from the fearful one—as more of her memories returned to her.

The shape that had broken from the rest still advanced forward, slowly.

She had been assigned to capture…someone.

"There! That is  _exactly_ what I'm talking about!"

The female voice—the one with venom lacing every word—was shouting.

" _She_ is not a 'little girl!' She is a cold-blooded killer that is more than willing to end each and every one of our lives for that  _monster!_ And she almost succeeded not even a few hours ago! _"_

The female voice's shouting grew louder with every word; her expression was most likely livid as she imagined the female voice's hands curled into fists. Some of the other shapes seemed to take a step back—and the shapes seemed to be getting clearer with each second now—as they heard the rage in her voice; and for some reason, that female voice made her memories return even faster.

Mr. 3 and her had traveled to an island…and they set up a plan to capture someone.

"Vi-."

"No, listen to me! That person over there is not some innocent child that just  _happened_ to get hurt! She is a criminal that is a part of an organization that only accepts murderers and the most deranged psychopaths! Every injury she has gotten to this point has been her own choice since she willingly follows that God damn bastard!"

The person they were supposed to capture…they had enlisted the help of a group of people.

The rage in the female voice kept rising.

"Um, I  _really_ think you should calm down Vi-."

"I can't even begin to imagine the corpses that would no doubt fill entire cemeteries that she was responsible for!"

The group the person was with…

"He-Hey seriously, there's no need to shout. Yo-You're acting kinda scary Vi-."

"Because you people aren't realizing just  _what_ we're dealing with! I…I don't know how else to explain it to you after you've all seen what she did, but for some reason act as if this—as if  _she—_ isn't a big deal!"

She and Mr. 3…they had been defeated. Somehow, they had lost…

"Hey, I agree this isn't exactly something to be taken lightly, but there's not much else she can do right now. We've disarmed her and she's injured. If she tries anything, we'll handle it."

She had lost to…a demon.

Her body shivered, and not because she was cold.

And Mr. 3 had lost…to someone else.

"So there's no need to get worked up, Vivi."

Her body stiffened again the moment she heard that name.

Vivi…

Princess Nefertari Vivi. Heir to the Alabastian throne. She and Mr. 3 had been assigned to capture the princess and bring her back to the boss.

"Don't think that just because she  _might_ seem helpless means she actually is, Mr. Bushido! There's a reason she's partnered with Mr. 3 of all people. She's one of the most powerful people in all of Baroque Works; she's just as devious and cunning as her partner  _and_ she has abilities that barely anyone understands how they work!"

The mission failed and she tried her best to complete it herself. But someone was able to beat her when it shouldn't have been possible. Someone who was a member of the group that was protecting the princess.

Her vision was getting clearer, and for the first time, she was able to see Princess Nefertari Vivi's expression; and just as she thought it was made of nothing but rage. She glared at the men and women only a few feet away from her at the bottom of the staircase.

"Even when she's sleeping, we can't think that the danger's gone. We have to guard her every moment because if she wakes up-."

Now that she could see, she took in the room she was in. She was in a large cabin. There was staircase—though, it looked more like a ladder now that she could properly—at the other end of the room that led up towards a square hatch that was currently closed. A few feet to the left of the staircase there was a desk and chair; pen and parchment paper were scattered on the wooden surface. And right next to the desk there was a bookcase filled to the brim with different texts of varying sizes, a small clock right above the bookcase. Near the far most right wall, there was a bed—a bit larger than the one she was on—and several portraits hung above it and more were scattered around the room.

She was all the way at the other end of the room. At the end of the bed, there was what looked like a small treasure chest. A large cabinet was located a short distance away from her on the wall to her left. And when she looked down, she saw a heavy white and purple blanket covering her body.

Her right eye then glanced up.

And she realized that the shape she had seen breaking away from the rest was standing right over her. The shape that was responsible for her entire situation. The shape that was actually the captain; whose head was only inches away from hers.

Straw Hat Luffy was staring at her with his small black irises—almost like he was intrigued.

And then she remembered everything.

The disaster that was Little Garden.

Her sneaking onto their ship.

Her almost beating them only for Roronoa Zoro to do the impossible.

And then her falling into the ocean; water filling her lungs as her body grew cold, only for something to reach out to her as she sunk further into the sea.

Her one visible eye widened.

"She woke up."

"And now she's awake, so that makes her even more dangerous! We can't let out guards down around her at-."

Princess Nefertari's words died as she finally processed what Straw Hat had just told her. Slowly, the princess' head moved towards her as she saw the rest of the Straw Hat pirates around Nefertari—who she could now see clearly—tense.

She didn't wait another moment.

She grit her teeth, preparing herself, as she immediately sat up—body protesting the action, but she ignored the pain. Straw Hat moved back to avoid her head hitting his head as she then immediately reached for her trusted palette with her left hand. She needed to get off a Colors Trap right now; and considering how she only had enough time to get off one before they all charged her, she decided to go for Scarlet Hatred.

But she realized two things.

One, her left arm was in a cast; a scaphoid cast to be specific. Several layers of white gauze covered her hand—with the exception of her fingers—up to about half the length of her forearm.

And the second thing was that her trusted palette was nowhere to be found. With a slight turn of her head, she saw that her paintbrush was also gone.

Not good.

"Looking for something?"

She turned her head towards the taunting voice she heard and saw Roronoa smirking at her as he sat on the floor right at the base of the stairs. His other comrades then gave him space as he slowly stood up.

"Sorry, but you're not getting your hands on your little toys anytime soon."

He strolled towards her, one hand on the hilt of one of the swords tied by his haramaki; the floorboards creaked with each step of his green boots.

"You understand, don't ya? We can't exactly have some little brat going around painting shitty doodles all over the ship."

Once he was a few feet away from her bed, he crouched down until he was at her eye level. Vicious black eyes stared at her as his smirk grew.

"And we would really appreciate it if you would stay on your best behavior."

His voice was low as he spoke those last words. The unsaid threat was clear to her. As well as the reason there was a cruel gleam in his eyes; the reason why his smirk was so large, as if he was a predator staring at his helpless prey.

He wanted to scare her. Again. To make her feel weak and powerless. To enjoy seeing her squirm.

Yeah, no.

He had seen her at…a vulnerable moment. But that was all it was, a moment. She had just been shocked that someone had actually overcome her Colors Trap; how she still did not know, but she could figure that out later. And it was because of her shock that when she turned to look at his furious expression she was remedied of…of…

He wasn't here. The fear you're feeling right now is ridiculous.

Do not show weakness in front of the enemy.

Her face was still emotionless as Roronoa stared at her. He had not moved an inch and the silence surround them only grew with each second.

…The point was, now that her head was clear, she could clearly see Roronoa for what he was. He was just another pirate.

Just another person who thought she was a weak, little girl.

Her one eye narrowed. And when she spoke, she made sure to speak in a voice that was just as hollow as the rest of her face. Every word that left her mouth was colder than frost.

"I am going to kill you. Slowly."

The smirk wavered. Just for a moment but she noticed, and it was immensely satisfying to see. He had not been expecting her to actually be able to speak back to him. He thought she might tremble again or perhaps even cry.

He really had no idea as to  _what_ he was dealing with.

A short glance and she saw that on the third step from the bottom of the staircase Mr. Tengu's jaw had dropped as he stared at her with wide eyes. Ms. Orange Hair took a step back the moment her words—barely above a whisper, but still so cold—reached her ears as she stared. Mr. Dartboard Brow, who was smoking a cigarette, one visible eye narrowed at her; though she could see just a hint of shock as his swirly eyebrow shot up for a moment. Princess Nefertari's eyes immediately glared at her as the princess' expression tightened, refusing to show her any signs of weakness; and the princess somewhat succeeded.

And Straw Hat Luffy still stared at her a few feet behind Roronoa. His expression was not the usual cheer and jubilance she had seen before on Little Garden. His eyes had no anger or hatred within them whatsoever. Every feature of his was blank as he stared at her. And that was…strange. She had not thought that Straw Hat could make such-.

_"Oh?"_

That one word—spoken in a voice that  _sounded_  calm but she knew was holding back  _something—_ brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced back to Roronoa, and she could immediately tell what exactly he was holding back.

Pure bloodlust.

His smirk was now sinister. The gleam in his eyes had become absolutely sadistic, leaking cruelty that she could almost feel crawling on her skin. The twisted desires that were just lying beneath his expression almost begged for her to show a moment of weakness. A flinch, a blink or anything really.

Because the moment she did, the demon in front of her would strike. He would make her realize that no one—especially her—could stand up to him.

"Those are some bold words,  _midget."_

In an instant, Roronoa's head was touching hers. Eyes now closer and letting her see all of the darkness that Roronoa had within him. That he held back with an iron fist until the moment he wanted to unleash it.

"Can you back them up?"

She did not blink. She did not flinch. She just kept staring right into his cruel eyes with her empty and half-closed eye.

And then she spoke.

"On second thought, could you save me the trouble and just slice your stomach open with your swords?"

Mr. Tengu gasped; loud and shrilly.

Ms. Orange Hair's and the princess' eyes widened.

Straw Hat's expression still remained emotionless.

And Roronoa…

His smirk was now stretching to the ends of his face. His expression was now full of the malice he stored within himself. Roronoa was about to strike.

Her eye was still emotionless as the demon in front of her pressed his head harder against her forehead.

It was still emotionless as the demon slowly—and purposefully—moved his hand to one of the blades on his waist.

And it was still emotionless when Mr. Dartboard Brow—who she had forgotten about—dropkicked the demon on the side of his head.

...Wait, what?

She blinked. Once. Then twice.

One moment, she was staring at Roronoa. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw two legs extended towards the demon. Then when the soles of black shoes made contact with Roronoa's temple, she saw the demon's eyes widen as he was sent flying away and to the wall on the right of her before crashing.

And now there was a large hole in the side of the wall. Roronoa's legs were still visible, hanging off the edge of the hole, while the rest of him was now laying down in the room next door.

She slowly turned her head from Roronoa's form back to Mr. Dartboard Brow; who was still smoking his cigarette as his one eyes glanced at her, looking as nonchalant as possible.

"Sorry about that. This idiot has no concept of manners."

…What?

"SANJI!?"

"SHIT-COOK!"

Both Princess Nefertari and Roronoa roared—in Roronoa's case as he hopped out of the hole and glared at the "shit-cook."

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow was not at all fazed by the rage in Roronoa's shout as he took out the cigarette between his lips before calmly exhaling a smoked-filled breath.

"Preventing the little lady here from having to look at such an ugly face for a moment longer, Mosshead."

Roronoa's expression rose in anger, left eye twitching.

"And your face is so much better!? Last time I checked it still looked just as miserable as the slop you serve us!"

Mr. Dartboard Brow smiled at Roronoa's words.

"I see you didn't argue that your own face was ugly. Nice to see that you're finally starting to accept the reality of just how hideous you truly are."

The twitching grew worse.

"Oh, you son of a-!"

"Excuse me Sanji, but is now really the time?!"

Princess Vivi's words had an immediate effect on Mr. Dartboard Brow. Though, she doubted it was the effect the princess wanted them to have.

In an instant, he turned on his heel, and his lips broke into a wide, goofy smile.

"Ohhh, I'm so sorry my most beautiful princess!"

Every word he spoke was packed with affection, and somehow his expression matched the care and love in his voice.

"I just couldn't let this shithead continue to threaten the cute little lady a second longer! And knowing him, he probably would have cut her to ribbons just because his small and fragile ego couldn't handle a few death threats!

The ridiculous love-sick tone he spoke in was something she had never heard before. It almost seemed unreal due to the sheer passion he radiated, and it  _somehow_ kept growing with each second.

Seeing this immensely confused her already perplexed mind.

"Oh? 'Cute,' huh?"

She turned her head back and saw Roronoa was smirking.

"I always knew you were a perv, cook, but even I didn't think you were a damn pedop-."

"ORIYAAAAAAAAH!"

The love vanished from Mr. Dartboard Brow's expression as pure rage took its place. He charged at Roronoa, and once he was close enough, he leapt through the air and thrust a leg at the swordsman's head.

This time Roronoa was ready. He pulled out two of his swords and crossed them together in front of him, blocking the kick just in time. Mr. Dartboard Brow's shoe hit the frontmost sword and caused the midsection of the blade to curve slightly from the impact. Mr. Dartboard Brow then landed on one leg, the other one pushing against Roronoa's katanas as the swordsman's smirk grew.

"Did I touch a nerve?"

The muscles on Ronoroa's arms tightened as he began to push back. But even with only one leg on the ground and the other leaning against the swords at a somewhat awkward angle, Mr. Dartboard Brow still maintained balanced and pushed even harder than before.

"Mosshead…"

Mr. Dartboard Brow growled as his eyes shifted to a vicious glare, and Roronoa's smirk quickly matched the glare Mr. Dartboard Bow sent him.

...What the hell was going on?

She found herself unable to look away from the two men battling only a few feet away from her. Only a moment ago, one of them had been threatening her, yet now she seemed to be forgotten entirely. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Tengu's shoulders were slouched as he stared at the two men with a tired expression; like this wasn't anything unusual for him. Princess Nefertari was glaring at the two, and while there was anger in her expression, she could also see just a touch of exasperation in the princess' eyes.

Straw Hat Luffy's own expression was no long emotionless as his lips were now in a big smile. And he was laughing, eyes closed. It was a unique laugh—similar to Miss Valentines "Kyahaha" in terms of peculiarity—and she heard the joy suffusing it grow as he watched his two crew members.

"Shishishishi!"

It reminded her-

Her heart stopped beating and she froze.

Kill that thought. It wasn't the same. Kill it right now before it gets worse.

She did so without a moment's hesitation. And once again she was calm, any and all feelings within her had died. An emotionless eye stared at the still bickering men in front of her. And she watched as Ms. Orange Hair, who had at some point gotten behind them, lightly tapped their shoulders with both of her index fingers.

They both swiveled their heads at the same time to look at Ms. Orange Hair.

"What do you-?"

"Yes, my belov-?"

Before they could finish, Ms. Orange Hair raised two fists before bringing them down on to the top of both men's skulls; hard enough that she heard dual cracking sounds echoing through the room. Both the swordsman and the love-sick monkey both hit the ground face first with enough force to leave cracks in the wood.

The only sound in the room left was Straw Hat Luffy's laughter.

She blinked again.

What the hell did she just see?

While her expression was still blank, she couldn't help but stare at the two seemingly unconscious bodies on the floor. This was…very strange to her. Ms. Orange Hair didn't seem that strong on Little Garden, nor when she fought her by herself; yet somehow, Ms. Orange Hair was able to knock out two men who seemed far stronger than her?

And the captain didn't even seem to mind that his own crew members were fighting each other when there were other things to attend to; instead, he laughed like it was a big joke. The other crew members didn't even seem surprised by the fact that Ms. Orange Hair had effortlessly dealt with two of her crewmates. Had Ms. Orange Hair done this before? If so-.

"How are your injuries?"

Those words brought her out of her thoughts.

A half-closed eye slowly looked up to see Ms. Orange Hair stepping over the two men before crouching down until she was only a few inches above her.

She said nothing. All she did was keep staring at the woman in front of her.

"I'm not a doctor, so sorry if the bandages are a little tight."

Ms. Orange Hair gave her a small grin.

"Though, all things considered, perhaps you wouldn't mind… _rewarding_ me for my services. It wasn't exactly cheap making sure your wounds didn't get any infections."

She still did not respond; expression still showing no emotion whatsoever. Ms. Orange Hair remained silent as she continued to stare into her black eyes.

But after moment, Ms. Orange Hair's small grin faded as her lips turned into a frown.

"You know kid, it's not exactly considered nice to show no signs of life when talking to someone."

Her only response was to continue to stare with hollow black eyes.

"Damn it kid, you were talking with Zoro a minute ago. Can't you at least nod your head or something?"

No. No, she could not. Because she was not an idiot. Ms. Orange Hair's questions were incredibly easy to see through. Roronoa had at the very least been upfront with his intentions.

Ms. Orange Hair remained in her crouched position for a few moments more, still waiting for some kind of response, before she let out a small sigh. She slowly stood up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fine. Don't say anything."

While there was irritation within Ms. Orange Hair's words, it was easy to tell that looking at her empty features had unnerved Ms. Orange Hair. The pirate did well in hiding her unease, but she had seen the slight anxiety in Ms. Orange Hair's eyes as she spoke to her. The way Ms. Orange Hair  _just_ stopped herself from glancing away as she looked into her eyes.

"And as for you two…"

Ms. Orange Hair looked down at the two men who still had yet to even twitch.

"Sanji, Zoro, you're both paying for the damage done to me and Vivi's room."

And with those words, both men immediately stood up.

"Yes, my beloved navigator!"

"Are you kidding me!?"

They both seemed fine, even though they were unconscious and injured a literal second ago. Mr. Dartboard Brow was once again euphoric. And Roronoa once again looked like he wanted to slice someone into bloody chunks.

"Why the hell do I have to pay!?"

"Hey, Mosshead, don't argue with our lovely navigator!"

The two men immediately turn to glare at another. And it was easy to see that another fight was about to break out.

She once again blinked.

Were these people insane? That might explain what she was witnessing. Insane people were rather quick to anger and fight in her experience.

Just before either could throw the first blow, Ms. Orange Hair struck them on top of the head again, and it looked like in the exact same spot as well. This time, she did not seem to put as much force in her blows as the two pirates' heads only jerked downward.

"Would you two cut it out!"

Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow both rubbed their heads as Ms. Orange Hair glared at them.

"Zoro, the reason why you're paying is because you and I both know there wasn't a reason to act like a shark about to tear a person limb from limb! Seriously, why is it that your first response to everything like this is to intimidate whatever or whoever the hell you want!?"

"Because it's effective!"

He was hit on the head again for his words.

"Shut up! Now, I'm not unreasonable-."

Roronoa was about to say something, but Ms. Orange Hair slowly raising her fist made him close his mouth.

"I know that Sanji's also responsible. So, I'm perfectly fine with him paying for most of the damage. Isn't that right Sanji?"

"Of course, my precious-."

She interrupted the love monkey before he could continue.

"And since I know that you don't have the money, I'll just add what you owe to your debt. And by all means, take your time paying that back, I'm in no rush."

There was a gleam in her eyes. A dark,  _very greedy_ gleam. She had only seen such a look from some of the most corrupt casino owners and con artist she had met while on missions.

Roronoa took a step back. There was a small trail of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"You damn witch."

"Compliments will get you nowhere."

Ms. Orange Hair gave him a positively malicious grin as she placed one hand on her hip.

And Straw Hat only seemed to be laughing harder than before.

…What the hell was wrong with these pirates? She'd never seen  _anything_ like this before. She'd never seen any pirates—no matter how crazy or depraved or stupid—act like this. For a second, she found herself stunned at the sheer  _idiocy_ she had just witnessed; and that was the only word she could think of to describe  _this,_  in such a short amount of time.

But still, her face remained emotionless. Any feelings of confusion were slaughtered just as quickly as they came.

She was a pro. An assassin. She did not lose herself to emotions.

Even if these pirates were weird, it did not matter. She just needed-.

"Miss Goldenweek, I suppose you're wondering why you're here and not at the bottom of the ocean?"

And just like that, every one of the Straw Hat's expressions changed. On the staircase, Mr. Tengu tensed. Both Mr. Dartboard Brow and Roronoa Zoro slowly turned to stare at the princess. Ms. Orange Hair eyes actually widened a little. And all of the cheer from Straw Hat Luffy's expression vanished, smile gone as he looked at the princess.

Nefertari Vivi was slowly walking towards her from the base of the staircase. Her eyes were in a tight glare, expression grim and mouth in a deep scowl.

And the princess' voice was cold. There was no anger, no fear, no hesitance, or any emotion within it. There was only ice in her words. And the biting chill that was the princess' voice was familiar to her.

"Vi…Vivi?"

Ms. Orange Hair looked at Princess Nefertari as if she had never seen the princess before. When she glanced at Mr. Tengu, he had on a similar expression. Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow faces were more stoic, but going by their raised eyebrows, they were also surprised by the princess' sudden change.

And the captain of the Straw Hat's watched with an emotionless expression as Princess Nefertari walked towards her.

She stared at the approaching princess with her half-lidded eye.

"I cannot say I had been."

That was mostly because she had figured it out the moment Roronoa came to "talk" to her. She realized why she was still alive, why they had treated her wounds, and why they hadn't just left her to die.

Information.

She was partnered with Mr. 3. She was a part of the fourth most powerful team in all of Baroque Works. She was a member of the organization the princess wanted to bring down.

What better way to do that then by interrogating someone who was one of their highest members?

Roronoa's attempts were obviously trying to scare her into giving them whatever information they wanted; and unfortunately for him, Mr. Dartboard Brow for some reason interrupted him before he could get serious, thus ruining his efforts. Though, it was not like she would have said anything even if he had continued. Ms. Orange Hair had seen that Roronoa was no longer going to succeed after that display, and so took it upon herself to try and get the information they needed. She was trying to use small talk to get her comfortable; make her believe they would be friendly towards her, and then get her to  _willingly_ tell them whatever they wanted to know about.

Amateurs.

But now…

She watched as the princess of Alabasta stood only a few feet away from her bed, the pirates having taken a few steps away to allow her to get as close as she wanted. And she stared right into Princess Nefertari's cold eyes.

Now, it looked like she should prepare for the  _real_ interrogation.

"Then allow me to get right to the point."

Princess Nefertari slowly crouched down, resting her hands on her knees as she stared at her .

"Tell me everything."

She could suddenly see how this princess was able to stay undercover for two years. She saw how she was able to fool so many people into believing her persona for so long.

Because right now, she was not looking at Nefertari Vivi.

She was looking at Miss Wednesday. A cold-blooded killer.

"You and I both know how this ends if you don't talk."

She had met many cruel and sadistic people in her past, and all of them had different ways of speaking to their victims. Some like to boast, others liked to be as menacing as possible, and some liked to be cold. They liked their victims to feel a chill run up their spines and shiver in fear as they realized how helpless they were.

And hearing the low command Miss Wednesday gave her—completely different from her earlier shouting—made her realize just how good at her job the princess had been. Miss Wednesday's frigid voice was crisp, clean, and so very serene; she saw Ms. Orange Hair visibly shiver from the princess' calm yet  _very deadly_ voice. Every word held a sharpness befit for someone who came from royalty. For someone who knew how to force people to do what they want.

Miss Wednesday was more than willing to kill her. Her eyes, the hard lines on her face, and her frown all emphasized just how easy it would be for the princess to snap her neck.

She looked at the woman who could so easily end her life with an empty black eye. She made no response. All she did was stare

She saw Miss Wednesday frown get just a little deeper, displeased by her silence. Miss Wednesday continued to stare at her for a few moments before she slowly rose from her crouched position.

And with Miss Wednesday's cold eyes still locked onto her, she extended her hand to the swordsman behind her.

"Zoro, may I borrow one of your katanas?"

Somehow her voice had become even colder.

"What?!"

Ms. Orange hair stared at the princess with wide eyes as she screamed.

"Hey, Vivi, I don't think that's-!"

Mr. Tengu rushed down from the stairs towards the group of his crewmates, expression just as shocked as Ms. Orange Hairs. They both seemed to be against what was about to happen.

"Usopp, Nami, please shut up."

She was not asking them.

Mr. Tengu and Ms. Orange Hair both flinched the moment those words left Miss Wednesday's lips. They had never heard such sharpness from the former agent before, and were immediately shocked as to just how harsh her words could be.

She glanced around.

Mr. Dartboard Brow looked at Miss Wednesday with his swirly eyebrow raised, surprised. Though, not nearly as much as his two friends.

Straw Hat still had on his impassive expression.

And Roronoa's face was hard as he stared at Miss Wednesday with narrowed eyes.

"I'll wipe away any stains once I'm done."

She didn't turn to look at Roronoa, eyes still locked on to her.

The swordsman glanced to his captain, and his eyes lingered for a moment. Straw Hat Luffy saw his swordsman looking at him, and turned his head ever so slightly to stare at him with his blank face.

The swordsman then looked back at Miss Wednesday as his hands grabbed a katana with a black hilt.

"Be careful, this blade's especially sharp."

His face was like a slab of stone; emotionless and giving nothing away as he placed the sword into Miss Wednesday's waiting hand.

"Thank you."

She lowered her arm and held the sword by her side.

"Hey, Zoro-!"

"Zoro, what are you-!"

Before Mr. Tengu and Ms. Orange Hair could finish, Miss Wednesday turned to face them. And while she could only see the back of her head, she knew that the princess' eyes were in a glare. She could almost see how intense it was from her spot on the bed.

Both Ms. Orange Hair and Mr. Tengu quickly shut their mouths. Miss Wednesday then turned towards Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"Do not even think about stopping me."

She then turned her head to Roronoa and Straw Hat Luffy.

"The same goes for all of you."

The captain's expression was solemn; he stared right into Miss Wednesday's cold eyes.

"We won't."

He knew what she was planning, and he would allow it. The captain was not as dumb as he seemed.

"Right guys?"

Straw Hat turned his attention to every one of his crew. The low voice he spoke in echoed in the quiet cabin, everyone now staring at the captain.

Mr. Dartboard Brow broke the hush.

"Right, captain."

He took another drag on his cigarette.

"Wait, Luff-!"

"Nami."

With just that one word, Ms. Orange Hair once again silenced herself. The captain would not have any arguments, not now.

"Do you understand?"

His voice was just as grave as his expression.

"…Yes."

The navigator, if she heard correctly, lowered her head and stared at the floor. Straw Hat then turned his gaze towards Mr. Tengu, who tensed.

"Usopp?"

Mr. Tengu swallowed.

"I…yeah, I got it, Luffy."

The princess looked around her, taking in every one of the Straw Hat pirates expressions. Making sure that no one would try anything to stop her.

She slowly nodded her head.

"Thank you."

Miss Wednesday then took a few steps forward until she was right on the edge of her bed, got onto her knees, the sword laying across her lap.

And glared. It was a glare that would have made anyone tremble—of that she was positive. A glare that Miss Wednesday had gained after years of living in a world few could survive. It was a truly menacing look.

She just looked into the princess' cruel eyes with her own empty eye.

Neither of them spoke. They both just stared at the other. She waited for Miss Wednesday to make the first move, already preparing for what was to come.

Then the princess spoke.

"When I first found out about your organization, I was determined to make sure you and everyone in it would pay for your crimes."

She did not respond, she only stared. And the princess continued.

"Of course, in order to do that, I needed to find out more about Baroque Works. I had to find out what exactly they were planning and how I could stop it. And the best way I could do that was to join you and bring you down from within."

She glanced at the sword on her lap before looking back at her.

"And it wasn't exactly easy finding a way to infiltrate Baroque Works. It took so much searching, going to so many islands to even try and find a  _hint_ that might lead to Baroque Works. But eventually, after so long,  _we-._ "

Miss Wednesday did not finish, her grip getting tighter. She let out a small, shaky breath, calming herself down. She was aware that the princess had infiltrated Baroque Works with someone else. Captain of the Royal Guard, Igaram. The former Mr. 8.

The one who had been killed by Miss All Sunday.

"…After finding a way in, I had to pass an… _initiation._ "

Fury rose in her expression, but Miss Wednesday snuffed it not even a moment later. Cold eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure you're aware of this, Miss Goldenweek. There aren't too many ways for someone to get into Baroque Works. One way is if a Frontier or Officer Agents recommends you to either the boss or Miss All Sunday. From there, they decide whether you can join. And if they decide you can, they assign you to either the Millions, Billions, or even a Frontier or Officer agent based on your skillset. Another way is for the boss to send one of his agents to investigate potential candidates, and from there the agent decides whether or not they can join."

Pale fingers tightened around the sword.

"I got in through the first way. I had made a name for myself as an above average bounty hunter and had drawn the attention of the Mr. 10 and Miss Tuesday pair of the time. A Millions Agent had escorted me as well as… _my friend_ to meet with them. However, due to not knowing anything about my past and having seemingly came from nowhere, they were suspicious. They couldn't let me in unless I passed… a  _test._  When an Agent is unsure if someone should join Baroque Works, they may give them any mission of their choosing, provided it's not one of the more important ones that the boss himself assigns."

She was aware of all of this, but she still kept silent. And the princess' glare grew more severe with each second.

"In order to prove that I was  _worthy_ of joining Baroque Works, I had to pass one of these missions. It was to end a small crew of pirates that had accidentally stumbled upon an operation near the beginning of the Grand Line. Of course, the pirate crew had no idea as to what they stumbled on since they had killed most of the agents on the island after a long battle, but the boss would not take any chances. They were recovering from their fight, so we had to get there quickly otherwise they might escape."

She let out a breath.

"So,  _my friend_ and I arrived on the island to deal with the pirates. At first, I didn't think too much about it. The pirate crew was exhausted, injured, and only about thirty people left breathing. I thought it would be easy to capture them and finally gain membership into Baroque Works."

Another breath—this one a touch more shaky.

"However…  _Igaram_  reminded me that the orders were to  _end them,_ not capture them."

She bit her lower lip, voice trembling.

"I…we had managed to make a name for ourselves without having to take any lives. I…I was aware that it wouldn't last. That in order to get into Baroque Works, at some point I would have to kill. But…"

She grit her teeth.

"Just because you are aware and accept you'll have to kill a person does not make it any easier."

The princess lowered her head. And when she did, She glanced at the Straw Hats.

Straw Hat Luffy's and Roronoa's expression sealed away any emotion they might have been feeling.

Mr. Tengu and Ms. Orange Hair were frowning; sympathy in their eyes as they looked at the princess.

And Mr. Dartboard brow just looked angry, eyebrow twitching.

The princess' cold eyes were once again glaring at her.

"So...Igaram and I walked to their ship…we took out our weapons and then…"

Her shoulders trembled, expression growing heavy with regret.

"It was done within five minutes. Their blood was all over the ship, all over myself and Igaram. They were so,  _so_ much weaker than I had expected. There was no need to kill them. It was just useless bloodshed."

Her lips moved into a snarl.

"And Mr. 10 and Miss Tuesday were  _ecstatic_ at what I had done. They were  _impressed_ that Igarama and I had been able to deal with these pirates so quickly. The fact that we had ended so many lives that night was more than enough for them to recommend me to the boss."

The sword in her hands shook.

"I  _smiled_  as they complimented my  _wondrous work._ I  _thanked them_ once they said they put in a word to the boss. And the moment I was sure they were no longer nearby after leaving us, I vomited over the bow. And then I cried as I looked at all of the blood covering me."

Every word she spoke was full of disgust. And it kept growing.

"I still think about that night to this day. All the men and women I slaughtered. Igaram helped me so much after that. It wasn't the first nor last time he had killed, so he had experience with everything I was going through. Whenever I had nightmares from that night, he consoled me. Whenever I spontaneously sobbed without my knowledge as I remembered that horrible event, he hugged me and told me he'd always be there for me no matter what."

She continued to tremble, remembering those times; remembering her friend who was gone now. But after a few more moments she stopped. The princess' eyes had become even colder as they once again glared at her.

"About a week later, The Unluckies had greeted us and told us we were now a part of the Billions. And when they did, I thought I had been through the worst of it. That now that I had finally joined your  _wretched_ organization, I had already gone through the worse pain I would ever experience in my life."

One hand moved to the hilt of the sword, scowl deepening.

"But I was wrong. For almost two years I had to do so many awful,  _repulsive_ things to get closer to your boss. I had to do things that made me question if I could even still be called a  _human being._ And I had one of my closest friends, someone I honestly considered family, commit them with me. For two. Long. Years."

Hatred was lining every part of her face. Hatred born from all the hardships she had to endure just to have a chance at bringing down Baroque Works. And it kept getting bigger with every second as Miss Wednesday let out a hiss.

"Do you know why I never once gave up? What made me continue to commit heinous act after heinous act? Do you know what exactly stopped me from blowing my own and my friend's cover and killing as many of you as we could? There were two reasons. One was that I was more than willing to throw away my own life, but never  _Igaram's_. He had followed me since the beginning, and after having him put his life at risk so many times for me, I wouldn't allow him to die if I could help it. And the second reason…"

The princess' voice was quiet now, barely as loud as a whisper. But there was no mistaking the venom it held.

"I would close my eyes and image dunes of sand. I would imagine children playing under a scorching sun but never once slowing down. I would see people walking through a crowded street with vendors on every side. I would imagine my father, smiling as he looked from the window in the throne room at the people going about their day. Happy that they were happy. Content that he had done what a king should do. Ensure that his people could smile."

She placed her thumb underneath the hilt of the sword. A metallic clink reached her ears as she began to unsheathe the katana.

"Alabasta is my home. I love it from the bottom of my heart and all of its people. And I refuse to abandon it when it needs its princess the most."

Hatred that was as cold as snow leaked from every inch of Miss Wednesday's body. And she would admit, that right now, the princess was probably at her most terrifying. Some of the Straw Hat members—mostly Ms. Orange Hair and Mr. Tengu—actually began to sweat from her words.

She still had yet to look away from the princess' glacial eyes. Eyes that any assassin would have trouble matching.

"So If it meant protecting their smiles… if it meant protecting their peace…"

She moved.

In an instant, fingers wrapped around her neck.

And in an instant, she was lifted off of the bed and the back of her head slammed against the wall behind her. She let out a painful grunt, which was not easy since there was an intense pressure on her throat. Her body was in agony as her injuries suddenly roared from the impact. Darkness clouded her vision again, all her breath escaping her and her lungs no longer able to get any air.

The darkness in her eye faded, and she found her black pupil staring at the end of Roronoa's katana.

And also Miss Wednesday's enraged expression. She now stood on the bed, one hand gripping her neck and the other holding the sword mere inches away from stabbing her eye.

"Then I would do _anything!"_

She screamed as rage engulfed her every word. Miss Wednesday's eyes were no longer cold, but instead livid. There was nothing but fire in her voice as her glare became smoldering.

"No matter how vile, no matter how horrendous, if it meant ending the organization that has brought my country and its people so much pain, then I would do anything!"

Miss Wednesday was no longer holding back. There was a pain within her words—and while not as loud as the plethora of emotions in her voice—it told her of all the suffering the princess had gone through just to get where she was. All of the sacrifices she had made. All of the choices she was forced to make.

She could hear all of the agony Baroque Works had caused her in that single scream.

The grip on her throat got tighter and she let out a strangled gasp.

"So know that  _torturing you_  wouldn't even make it halfway up on the list of things I've hated doing!"

The look in Miss Wednesday's eyes—amidst the rage, the agony, the hatred—whispered to her air deprived mind that the princess had done this so many times before. Even with the growing pain in her body, just by looking into the princess' eyes she knew that Miss Wednesday was more than willing to inflict every kind of punishment she knew how to deal.

"You are going to tell me everything that you know! You are going to tell me just what the hell Baroque Works plans to do to my country! And you're going to tell me everything I need in order to bring down that bastard  _Crocodile!"_

Oh, so that was her boss.

The grip on her throat got tighter, lungs begging for air but none would come. Her one good hand tried to pry Miss Wednesday's grip away, but it was like steel. As her eye darted around to see if she could somehow escape from her grasp, she caught sight of the Straw Hat Pirates expressions.

Mr. Dartboard Brow and Ms. Orange Hair looked away; Ms. Orange her visibly gritting her teeth in disgust as Mr. Dartboard Brow's hair shadowed his eyes.

Mr. Tengu knees were trembling as he stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.

And Straw Hat Luffy and Roronoa's expression were still blank, still showing nothing. They looked at both her and the princess with unblinking eyes.

"So either you start talking…"

Once again her voice was quiet, but the hatred within it still blared throughout Miss Wednesday's words. She saw the threat hanging in her voice, even as darkness began to rise in her vision again, and she knew exactly what would happen if Miss Wednesday was not satisfied.

" _Or else."_

She would die an agonizing death if she did not tell Miss Wednesday everything she knew about Baroque Works.

She felt the grip on her throat lessen, just enough to allow her to suck in small bits of air. She quickly breathed in as much as she could. There was no escape from Miss Wednesday. Her body was roaring in pain. Her paint had been taken away. Her mind was too exhausted to think of anything that might get her out of this situation.

"Well?"

Miss Wednesday spoke through gritted teeth, moving the sword in her hand just a little closer to her eye that wasn't covered in bandages.

To the eye that was still hollow and empty. An eye that had not shown an ounce of emotion even when the princess' slammed her against the wall. Not fear, not anger, not desperation or anything. Her entire expression was still emotionless. Everything about her demeanor, even while slammed against a wall, showed no concern about the imminent death mere inches away from her.

She felt nothing. There was only a void inside her body.

And after a few seconds, she spoke. Drawling out every word in her usual monotone.

"Do. Your. Worse."

Her voice was cold. It was like a blizzard sweeping through the room. It held nothing but a deep chill that made everyone—even the emotionless Roronoa and Straw Hat—take a step back. Her voice told them she was not afraid. It showed she could care less about the killer in front of her.

Her frigid tone could not have made it clearer that she was fine with being tortured.

An eye that held nothing watched as the Miss Wednesday faltered for a moment, pulling back the sword. The princess was shocked as she stared at her.

But a moment later and the shock was gone. The princess' eyes were back in a glare as she moved the sword back into position.

"Last chance."

Her grip tightened again, and once again it was impossible to suck in any air.

But she did not care. She just kept staring at the princess with her one visible eye. If this was how she was gonna die, then fine. The only regret she had was not eating one more rice cracker.

That was it.

The grip on her neck got tighter. The sword in the princess' hand shaking.

So what if she was about to be tortured? So what if she was about to go through an intense agony? She'd already been through far worse. And Baroque Works…

Baroque Works was her home.

A sick, twisted, hellhole… but it was the only place she could possibly call a "home." It was a place where she didn't have friends, where the people a part of it thrived off of death and misery…

But without it…

Her eye narrowed.

"Just talk!"

She did not answer the princess.

And in response, she snarled.

"Are you seriously willing to die for Baroque Works!?"

"Yes."

It was difficult to talk with her throat in a vice grip, but she managed. There was no hesitance in her voice. The only thing within that one word was an emptiness that matched her expression. A cold finality that made it clear she was perfectly okay with what was about to happen.

Miss Wednesday let out a growl as the rage in her eyes rose. She then pulled the sword back.

She watched with an emotionless eye as Miss Wednesday's mouth twitched violently.

She watched as Miss Wednesday arm trembled.

And she watched as Miss Wednesday let out another scream.

Well, if this was how she was going to die, then-.

The pressure on her neck disappeared. Her body instantly fell back down-sliding down the wall back to the bed below as she winced from the impact. She greedily took in as much air as her lungs could manage.

She looked up.

Miss Wednesday was gone.

And Nefertari Viv stood in her place as she glared down at her. Any trace of the cold-blooded killer was gone as the woman in front of her trembled with closed fists; sword sheaved as anger contorted her face.

Though, this anger was directed more at the princess herself rather than her.

"Damn you straight to hell."

Her breath still came out in raspy gasps as she stared, wondering why the princess would have on such a strange expression.

Princess Nefertari then got off the bed, walked through the Straw Hats without even glancing at them, and headed towards the stairs. When she passed Roronoa though, she stuck out her arm and placed his sword back in his outstretched hand. Her footsteps echoed through the quiet cabin before she reached the top, opened the hatch and then left the room.

The Straw Hat Pirates all stared at the hatch. And with their eyes off her, she tried to regulate her breathing back to normal as she rubbed her throat. She could not show any signs of weakness in front of these pirates. But her throat felt like it was on fire—and with all of her other injuries once again sending fresh pain all over her body—trying to breathe normally was a very troublesome task.

But she'd kill for some water right-.

"Sanji, could you get some water for her?"

She blinked.

The captain was once again looking at her with a blank expression. When he spoke, his voice had no emotion within it as his black eyes stared into her one visible iris.

The other Straw Hats turned to their captain.

"I think she's thirsty."

Mr. Dartboard Brow looked from the captain to her. He then slowly nodded his head.

"Sure thing."

Mr. Dartboard Brow then walked towards the stairs, placing one hand on his cigarette and the other one in his pocket. He seemed to be nonchalant—from his posture to his expression—but she knew better. Seeing her about to get tortured disturbed him. He was rather good at hiding his discomfort, but she could still see it.

She then glanced at the other pirates.

Mr. Tengu was glancing at his comrades with nervous eyes, unsure what to do.

Ms. Orange Hair was staring at the floor, greatly troubled by what she had seen the princess almost do. And she could tell Ms. Orange Hair was remembering something—and by the deep frown on her face, it was not something pleasant.

Roronoa was glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, mouth in a small frown and expression impassive.

And when she glanced back to Straw Hat Luffy, she found he was gone. Her eye searched for the pirate-.

And found that he was sitting down only a few feet away from the bed. At some point, he had moved from his spot; not even making the slightest sound with his sandals.

Right, she only had one eye she could see out of right now. Her depth perception was rather skewed.

"Hey…"

Straw Hat Luffy raised an eyebrow at her.

Her eye still held no emotion as she stared at the captain of the Straw Hats. She did not know what to expect from this man. At first, he just seemed like an idiot, but his actions right now displayed a man who was more than willing to do what was necessary in order to get what either he or his crew wanted. He had not even blinked when the princess slammed her into the wall. His expression had been emotionless as he ordered his crew not to try and stop the princess from doing whatever she wanted to her. It was completely different from the pirate she had seen back on Little Garden

She could not tell what kind of person he was. She could not tell what exactly was going through his head as he stared at her.

Her eye narrowed.

And that made him especially dangerous.

"Are you really not gonna tell us anything?"

He tilted his head at her.

That question seemed rather simple, but she was well aware of the implications behind it. She was not exactly sure why Nefertari Vivi stopped, but now that she knew that the Straw Hats—at least some of them—were willing to torture, they would continue in her place. The moment she responded, this man would be perfectly fine with having Roronoa slowly cut her into pieces. He would be fine with watching her slowly bleed out.

Her one eye shifted to a glare.

"No."

Her response was cold; that one word was embedded with the same hollowness that festered inside her.

Straw Hat Luffy continued to stare at her.

And then he got up, turned around and began to walk away.

"Okay, got it."

…What?

She blinked again. And she watched as he made his way towards the staircase.

"Wait, what?"

Mr. Tengu looked at his captain, disbelief within his expression.

"Are we…?"

Mr. Tengu did not know how to finish. He glanced from her back to his captain, struggling to figure out a way to phrase what he was about to say.

"…Stopping?"

Straw Hat stopped walking just as he reached the base of the stairs.

And then he turned around with an expression that screamed: "are you an idiot?"

And Mr. Tengu looked like he had just received a punch to his abdomen as he flinched, hard.

"Huh? Didn't you hear her? She's not gonna tell us anything."

He once again began to walk as Mr. Tengu sputtered gibberish.

"If she doesn't want to talk, then she won't talk."

He was about halfway up the stairs when Mr. Dartboard Brow opened the hatch; a pitcher of water in one hand and glass filled to the brim with water in the other. Mr. Dartboard Brow moved out of the way as his captain passed him.

And then Straw Hat closed the hatch behind him as he left the cabin.

Mr. Dartboard Brow stared at the hatch for a moment before looking back down at the remaining crew members.

"So…"

His one visible eye looked towards her.

"I take it we're...stopping?"

"Yes. Yes, we are."

Ms. Orange Hair's voice was firm as she glanced at her from the corner of her narrowed eyes.

"Well, for now."

Ms. Orange Hair whipped her head to glare at Roronoa the moment he spoke. The swordsman gave her a shrug.

And it really did seem like they were not going to continue their interrogation. There was genuine nonchalance in the swordsman stance as he crossed his arms. It did not seem like they had any intentions of continuing.

But looks were deceiving. And as she had learned just a few hours ago, anything could happen when these pirates were involved.

"But anyway…"

Roronoa's voice trailed off as he turned to look at her just as Mr. Dartboard Brow came down from the stairs and joined the rest of his crew.

She stared at the pirates only a few feet away from her bed with an empty eye.

"I guess you got lucky, midget."

He gave her a predatory grin.

"Because I think we both know just how badly this could've ended for-."

He did not finish. Because another fist had slammed into his head.

"Would you cut it out with the damn 'I'll slice you and eat your heart' look already!?"

Ms. Orange Hair eyes were now in a heated glare as Roronoa rubbed the spot on his head she had hit with a scowl.

"Damn it, witch, would it kill you not to do that  _now_!?"

"Sorry, but whenever you act like a moron—which is all the time—my fist will be waiting!"

Once again, they were arguing. Once again, she seemed to be forgotten.

And once again she had no idea what she was watching. But she made sure that the feelings of confusion within her vanished as quickly as she could make them.

She could figure out what was wrong with these pirates later.

It was then she noticed that Mr. Dartboard Brow had gotten closer to her at some point, moving in her blind spot, and had extended the arm with the glass of water in it.

"Here."

He smiled.

And her eye narrowed in response. Did he honestly think she would fall for something like this? Really?

Mr. Dartboard Brow looked confused for a moment. And then he scowled. It was the first time his expression held any anger; at least when he was looking at her and not "Mosshead."

She prepared herself, making sure not to visibly tense. It looked like he was about to get a  _little_  more vio-.

Mr. Dartboard Brow let his cigarette fall from his mouth, quickly stomping it out with his foot once it hit the floor. He then brought the glass of water to his lips and took long, obvious gulps. Once he was finished he once reached out the glass to her.

"It's not poisoned. I don't do that shit."

She blinked.

Mr. Dartboard Brow's frown got deeper.

"I'll never mess with anyone's food or drinks. No matter who they are."

He meant every word he spoke. There wasn't a hint of deception in his eyes or face.

That she could see, anyway.

She slowly reached out with own hand—the one that wasn't in a cast—and grabbed the water.

His smile was back as he placed the pitcher in his other hand on a nearby stool.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

And then, without any warning, he leapt from his crouched spot, spun in the air, and sent a kick towards Roronoa's head. The swordsman, who was still arguing with the navigator, ducked his head down just in time to avoid the black shoe that would have hit him in the face.

Mr. Dartboard Brow landed with a glare.

"Marimo, don't call my dear Nami a witch!"

Were these pirates actually insane?

"You notice now!?"

Roronoa let out an incredulous scream as he hands moved to grab the swords around his waist. But before he could, Ms. Orange Hair shouted again.

"Both of you cut it out already!"

Both Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow both became still as they looked at the navigator. Mr. Tengu—who was currently standing near the bookcase—also turned his attention to his irritated crew member.

Ms. Orange Hair sighed.

"Now then, would one of you do me a favor and stay and watch our-."

She stopped herself for a moment, eyes glancing at her as the navigator tried to find the right word to use.

"…Guest while the rest of us discuss what to do with her."

Hmm. Guest. Not prisoner. She did not know why exactly Ms. Orange Hair avoided using that word when it clearly fit, but it was obvious that the idea of her being  _trapped_ on their ship unsettled her.

At least, that was the way she acted, anyway.

"I would do it myself, but I have to make sure the ship stays on course. And make sure we don't run into any storms if possible."

Ms. Orange Hair looked at the three men in front of her.

"So, any volunteers?"

Mr. Tengu spoke first.

"Um… I would but…"

He did not finish as his eyes glanced to her. She heard him swallow; sweat beginning to form on his brow.

"I, unfortunately, just contracted a very bad case of-."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

She waved a dismissive hand at Mr. Tengu before turning her head towards Mr. Dartboard Brow."

"Sanji, I don't suppose you could stay here?"

"I would, but I gotta prepare the food soon."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. He slowly plucked one out as he placed it in his mouth.

"If I don't start now, we're gonna be eating rather late today. And I don't think the stomach with legs would appreciate that."

He gave the navigator an apologetic look, an abashed grin on his face as he took out a lighter from his other pocket before lighting his cigarette.

"Sorry about that, Nami."

"It's fine."

Ms. Orange Hair grabbed her chin with her index and thumb.

"I don't think Luffy would stay in the same spot for more than five minutes…"

The three men all nodded their heads in agreement at her words.

"And Vivi…"

Ms. Orange Hair's expression became uncomfortable, lips moving into a deep frown; and for a moment, she saw anger within the navigator's eyes before it quickly disappeared.

"…Yeah."

Her eyes then moved to Roronoa.

"Zoro, it looks like you have to watch her for now."

She glared at the swordsman.

"Provided you  _only_ watch her."

Roronoa rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't threaten her or anything like that, right?"

Ms. Orange Hair nodded.

"Good. Now then…"

The navigator turned around to stare at her. She seemed to consider what she was about to say. After a few moments, she continued.

"We'll be back soon."

Her eyes narrowed.

"So, don't try anything."

The expression Ms. Orange Hair wore was threatening. But if Ms. Orange Hair honestly expected to intimidate her with such a face, she would be disappointed. She had seen far worse than that.

Her gaze was still empty—her one eye not even blinking—as she stared at the four pirates.

"Understood."

Her voice was emotionless. Ms. Orange Hair continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh.

Ms. Orange Hair then began to walk away from the group.

"I'll come back to change your bandages later."

With that, she began to head towards the stairs. Mr. Tengu took one last look around the room before deciding to quickly follow the navigator. He did not see a point in staying any longer; and also, it was obvious he wanted to get out of the cabin as fast as possible.

Probably to faint or something like that.

Once those two reached the top of the stairs and left the room, Mr. Dartboard Brow turned to glare at Roronoa.

"For once in your life, try not to do anything stupid."

The swordsman returned the glare.

"Oh, screw you."

Before Mr. Dartboard could respond, Roronoa walked away towards the staircase. When he was at the base of the stairs, he leaned against the wall with his back before sitting down. He then placed both of his arms behind his head, positioned one leg so that it was standing on the ground while the other stretched along the floor as far as it could.

He then closed his eyes.

"Don't you have some cooking to get to?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow growled but said nothing. He simply walked towards the staircase, stepping over Roronoa once he got close, and then proceeded to walk up the stairs.

And now she was left alone with Roronoa. The swordsman whose eyes were still closed. Who was leaning on the wall all the way on the other end of the room as if he was about to take a nap. He did not seem to be even slightly worried that she might try something.

And he was right.

For now, anyway.

She continued to stare at him with a half-lidded eye, making sure that his eyes were really closed and not at her. And once she confirmed he was not looking at her, she slowly put down the glass of water in her hands onto the stool with the pitcher. She then took off the blanket on her legs and looked down at her body.

She still had on her blue t-shirt and maroon skirt, but that was about the only clothes she had left. Her sky-blue blouse, the blue stockings with violet stripes, and even her shoes had been taken. She also noticed that of the clothing she still had on, it was dry and warm, when it should have been wet. She had been in the ocean, yet she did not see a single drop of water on either her body or shirt and skirt. Which meant that they had to have been dried off.

Which meant at some point she had been stripped of all her clothing. On a pirate ship.

Her black eye scanned every inch of her body.

…Well, aside from her injuries, her body didn't feel sore in any places that it shouldn't be, so the chances of  _that_ happening went down. Besides, why would they even bother putting her clothes back on, and drying them for that matter, if they had done  _that?_

But still...

For now, she would just see how badly her injuries were.

She looked at her bare legs. Certain portions had been covered in white gauze; specifically, the spots where the worst of her bruises were located. Without looking down she could feel her chest and back were covered in bandages and both of her arms, which no longer had on any of the various bands she usually wore, also had on layers of bandages. She then placed a hand on the bandage covering her eye, and almost immediately felt a sharp sting when she did so.

Roronoa could seriously punch. It was obvious to her that she would not be seeing out of her left eye for a while.

She looked at the cast on her other arm, and then she tentatively tried to move her fingers. It was hard to do so in the cast, but there was no pain in moving them. However, she couldn't hold a paintbrush like this.

Good thing she was ambidextrous.

She moved her other hand towards her hair and felt around. Her fingers confirmed that her hair was no longer in braided pigtails—the orange pearl bobby pins long since removed—and she could imagine the mess of red locks behind her head that stretched to her back.

She then moved her hand to the top of her head.

And just as she thought, she didn't feel the material of her hat.

She sighed. She remembered seeing her hat flying off when she was hit. She had been hoping that had just been the concussion making her see things. But no, it was true.

She lost her hat.

She sighed again.

It was a nice hat. She had it for so long, and its presence on her head had always been…comforting. But there was nothing to do about it now. By now, her hat would probably be either floating somewhere on the sea or be eaten. And not that it was gone, she'd miss it; honestly, she would.

For maybe a day. At most.

It was a nice hat—and a comfortable hat, of that there was no question— but it was just a hat.

It was just a hat.

Just a hat.

She rubbed her neck.

Really, it was lucky she had it for as long as she did. This was the Grand Line, and considering the shit that happened here, she should've lost it far sooner. And today, it had finally happened. There was nothing she could do.

So, goodbye Bob. You were an excellent hat and-.

She froze.

…When she had been rubbing her neck, she hadn't felt it.

No way.

She spread her fingers, searching for it.

This wasn't happening.

Her fingers felt nothing—when she knew it  _had_ to be there.

She felt like she was being choked again.

It just had to be. It had always been there since-!

Slowly, she moved her head down to her neck.

And saw nothing.

…Her medallion was gone. The pendant that had always hung around her neck was gone. There was no sparking emerald to meet her eye.

There was nothing.

She stared at her bare neck.

And then she felt her teeth grit.

No.

Her eyes glanced around, trying to see if maybe her medallion was on the floor. That maybe it had just fallen off her and was still here.

No, no, no.

But it wasn't. It wasn't anywhere on in the room. It wasn't anywhere on the ship. It was in the ocean. Most likely sinking by now all the way to the bottom of the depths.

No!

Her right hand clutched into a fist.

Damn it! She lost it! How could she lose it!?

She was trembling. A growl—small, but still  _very_ animalistic—escaped her lips. She could feel the anger rushing to her expression. Her entire body suddenly felt hot.

Damn it, damn it, DAMN-!

Enough.

Her trembling stopped.

Rage is useless, just like every other emotion.

Her lips had moved from a deep scowl back into a thin line.

You are an assassin. You are not someone who gets worked up over losing a pendant. No matter who gave it to you, it does not matter.

She could feel the void within her grow.

Who cares about a stupid medallion? You most certainly do not.

Once again, her eye was cold. There were no emotions within it.

Just a void.

You are stronger than this. You can get through this without that pendant. Why did you even keep it all this time? You are a devil. Devils do not carry around things like that. The only reason you did not get rid of it so long ago was because you were too lazy to.

That was it. That was the only reason you kept it all these years.

Her breath—which had moments ago been stolen from her—returned.

And she sighed. It was just a stupid medallion. It was gone now, and she accepted that. Getting emotional over that thing was ridiculous. It was just like her hat. Sure, it was nice, but in the end, it was useless. It served no purpose. It didn't matter in the slightest.

Her hand hovered to the spot where she had always seen a sparkling green piece of jewelry.

It was gone. She accepted that.

She would be fine.

Slowly, she raised her head. Her one eye glanced towards Roronoa. His eyes were still closed. Good. He had not seen her lose her composure—the last thing she needed was to actually appear weak to the one person who could break out of her Colors Trap.

Her eye narrowed.

Now then, how to play this? She did not have any paint on her, and her cast made it impossible to use her left arm; in battle, that could spell death. And perhaps the biggest issue she faced was that she had no idea what these pirates had in store for her. They obviously wanted her to talk about Baroque Works, yet for some reason stopped in the middle of an interrogation. They were willing to torture, but for some reason they didn't when that was by far the best option. They might continue later, or they might not. She wasn't sure.

These pirates weren't acting anything like she had expected. And that just made everything so much more complicated.

She sighed again.

She should rest now. Her body was exhausted. Even though she was on an enemy ship, she could not really do much if she did not have the energy to move. It was a gamble sure—she would be vulnerable and at any moment they could do whatever they wanted to her unconscious body.

But she was tired. Very,  _very,_ tired.

She looked down at her neck.

It was just a pendant. Just a pendant.

It was worthless.

She sighed.

Her eyes glanced at the water on the stool. She was still thirsty, and the cook seemed to be honest..

But that was it. He looked like he was being honest. And sure, she was confident in her abilities to read people, but she could still make mistakes; or some of the pirates could be just that deceitful and have an astonishing ability for acting. There was no true way of knowing when these pirates were being genuine.

And she would not be careless. Not now.

So, she brought the covers that she had shoved away back over her body. She then took a moment to feel around the pillow on the bed before resting her head on the coolest side.

She then closed her eyes—because even though she could not see out of the other, it was still open somewhat.

And then she promised that the moment she woke up, she would think of something to kill these pirates and get the princess back to Baroque Works.

Two minutes after that last thought, she was snoring.

**_Report 002: Completed._ **


	3. Goldenweek's Report 003: Not Your Average Pirates

With one eye slowly opening, Miss Goldenweek let out a small groan as she rolled around in her bed.

In the  _Straw Hats'_ bed.

Her mind was instantly awake as she remembered where she was. On a pirate ship surrounded by enemies without her paintbrush or palette. She had also lost her hat...and her pendant.

Slowly, she sat up. Her half-lidded eye looked around the room.

And then she stopped looking once she saw Roronoa, who was in the same position and spot by the stairs she saw him in before she fell asleep. Roronoa had one eye cracked open as he stared at her.

"Oh, you're awake."

Roronoa let out a yawn and scratched the back of his head before standing up. She stared at him with her blank expression as he craned his neck to one side.

"Whew, that was a good nap."

He really had been napping; she could tell he was not faking, she recognized the signs of waking up from a deep rest. He was that sure of his safety that he felt confident enough to sleep right in front of an enemy. He did not even view her as a threat.

Well, for now, he was right. But only for now.

"Hey, Usopp!"

Roronoa was shouting as he turned his head to look at the hatch above the staircase. She heard some noise from above and what sounded like feet hurriedly rushing to stand up as the hatch quickly opened. Mr. Tengu's head immediately leaned into the room, swiveling as if expecting to see some disaster.

"What?! Are you okay!? Did she try something?! Did she-!?"

"She woke up."

Mr. Tengu clamped his mouth shut at Roronoa's words. He slowly looked at her and then back to his comrade.

"Oh…okay. Then, what did you need?"

"Are the others still in the galley?"

Roronoa placed a hand on the katanas at his waist as he looked up at Mr. Tengu.

"Ye-Yeah. Most of them haven't left since this morning."

Morning?

She looked around the room again. When she had first woken up, if she had to guess, she would say it had been near sunset; considering that at most a few hours passed since her attempt to take out the Straw Hats. And going by Mr. Tengu's words, morning had already passed some time ago. Which meant that she had slept for at least half a day.

While she had slept longer than that in the past, that did tell her just how exhausted she had been yesterday. And while her body was still aching almost everywhere, she was not nearly as tired or sore as before. Which was a good sign that nothing had been done to her while she was asleep.

And, as she promised herself yesterday, she needed to come up with some kind of plan now that she was awake.

"Is Nami still there?"

Roronoa raised a brow as Mr. Tengu took a few steps down the staircase.

"Yeah, she's still talking with Vivi and Luffy. Sanji's just taking inventory of all food and rations since-."

Mr. Tengu stopped himself. She saw him swallow as he awkwardly rubbed his neck, trying his best not to look at her and instead focus on Roronoa.

"Since…you know…because of that thing we talked about last night."

"That thing" obviously had something to do with her. And it sounded rather important.

"Well, would you mind staying here while I go tell those three that our… _guest_  is awake again?"

Roronoa did not agree with the term "guest." Most likely, he would have preferred something along the lines of "future victim." She still remembered the gleam in his eyes just before he got the chance to seriously interrogate her. And adding in the fact that he could break out of her Color Traps, he was officially the most dangerous member of these pirates.

"Yeah, sure thing."

Roronoa was already halfway up the staircase when Mr. Tengu spoke. And a second later, Mr. Tengu's eyes widened to a ridiculous size.

"Wait, what!?"

Mr. Tengu whipped his head towards Roronoa.

"I wanna stretch my legs a bit. I've been guarding her since the sun went down and my body feels a little stiff."

Mr. Tengu's face began to pale.

"Ca-Can't you wait a bit!? I'll tell them she's awake and  _then_ you can do whatever-!"

"Ahh, thanks, Usopp. I knew you'd understand."

Roronoa's bored voice interrupted Mr. Tengu as the swordsman walked passed him.

"Listen to me, damn it! Hey!"

Roronoa didn't turn to face the screaming Mr. Tengu as he reached the top of the staircase. He then opened the hatch.

"Hey, Zoro! Please don't leave me with-!"

Roronoa closed the hatch behind him, ignoring Mr. Tengu completely. The scrawny pirate on the stairs tensed—she could almost see the hairs on his neck standing tall—as he slowly turned his head towards her.

She was still looking up from her bed with an empty black eye, staring right at Mr. Tengu.

He let out a squeal. She could see him shiver as sweat began to form on his brow.

"Tr-Try anything and you'll regret it!"

He pointed a shaky finger at her. Despite that oh-so-intimidating declaration, she still stared at him with an unblinking, half-lidded eye. His quivering grew worse with every second of silence; Mr. Tengu made it abundantly clear just how scared he was of her. The more she stared at him, the more he wanted to run away.

Well, at least she now knew that, out of all the Straw Hats, Mr. Tengu would probably be the easiest to take down.

She glanced away—and she heard the sigh of relief that left Mr. Tengu's mouth the moment she broke eye contact—and stared at her body. She was not in as much pain as yesterday, so that was a good sign she was recovering; albeit slowly. But that did not mean that she was anywhere near ready to try and pull off an escape. Her left eye was still useless and her left hand was broken. However, she could at the very least try and  _prepare_ to escape.

So first, she needed information.

She slowly turned her gaze back to Mr. Tengu. He flinched as fear returned to his expression.

"Wha-What is it?"

Her eye narrowed. And she saw Mr. Tengu swallow even from her spot on the bed.

"I have a question."

Mr. Tengu was sweating again.

"And th-that is?"

She looked right at Mr. Tengu, eyes scanning every inch of his body.

And then, she tilted her head to one side.

"Are you a Tengu?"

Her voice was monotone as Mr. Tengu's jaw dropped; though, this time it was out of shock rather than fear. For several moments, he stood completely still. Then, he spoke.

"…What?"

"Are you a Tengu?"

After spending almost five years in the Grand Line, she had learned that things she had once thought were impossible were the norm here. Dinosaurs, Giants, people that could manipulate the elements and so much more weird stuff was abundant on this sea. So, something like Tengus existing would not surprise her.

And it was better to know the biology of one's soon-to-be-dead enemy now rather than later. The incident with that Fishman who she  _thought_  she had stabbed in the kidneys had taught her that lesson.

"HUH!?"

Mr. Tengu looked insulted as he shouted.

"What do you mean am I a Tengu!? Do I look-!?"

"Yes. Extremely so, actually."

There was anger in Mr. Tengu's expression as his left eye began to twitch.

"I am a human being! This nose is the nose of a perfectly average human!"

She continued to stare at him with her emotionless face. Unless the definition of average had been changed to 'extremely out of the ordinary,' she was certain that Mr. Tengu was either delusional or in denial.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Tengu."

"Don't call me that!"

He pointed a finger at his nose.

"I'll have you know that this nose is something I inherited from my mother! My non-Tengu mother!"

"I see."

"You see?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Of course."

She nodded her head. And Mr. Tengu's expression lost its anger as he now looked relieved. The pirate on the stairs crossed his arms and nodded with his eyes closed; a pleased grin spearing across his face.

"Well, that's goo-."

"Clearly, your mother is a Swordfish Fishwoman.

"Yes, she was a Swordfis-."

He stopped himself as the anger—well, more like fury—came back to his expression. He reached into the satchel around his waist and pulled out his slingshot. A black pellet rested on the slingshot's pad, aimed right at her forehead.

"YOU ARE SERIOUSLY ASKING FOR IT, MIDGET!"

She did not blink at the rage in Mr. Tengu's shout. She did not flinch as Mr. Tengu glared at her with all the hatred he could gather.

Because really, he was about as intimidating as a frail puppy.

"Be honest with yourself…"

Those three words that left her mouth were cold, and a black eye that held no emotion stared into Mr. Tengu's eyes.

And he flinched, aim wavering.

"Do you actually have the guts to fire that thing, Mr. Tengu?"

She tilted her head again, expression still empty as Mr. Tengu did not respond. For several moments, he just stared at her. Cold sweat dripping down the side of his head as the silence grew.

And then he clicked his tongue and put his slingshot back in his bag.

"Like I'd actually fire on you. Nami would kill me if I did."

He glared at her.

"And she scares me  _way more_ than you do."

His voice was severe, but she knew. She knew those words were aimed more at himself rather than her, trying to convince himself they were true. Because there was no mistaking the fear she saw in his eyes despite his efforts to hide it.

"Mr. Tengu, no matter how scary your navigator may be…"

She purposefully trailed off, making sure that her voice was just as empty as the void within her.

" _I_ am far more frightening."

Mr. Tengu shivered as if he was caught in a blizzard, the fear slithering in his eyes growing the longer she stared at him. She had to assert herself over Mr. Tengu, making sure he did not have the courage to fight back when she did execute her plan. By intimidating him now, she could make her escape all the easier.

And who wouldn't be scared of such an unfeeling, empty gaze?

"Ye-Yeah, well-."

Whatever he was about to say, no doubt something that would only make him look like an even bigger coward, was cut short as the hatch opened. She turned her head and saw Ms. Orange Hair slowly entering the room.

"Ahh, Usopp, glad to see you're not dead."

As the navigator took a few steps down the staircase, Mr. Tengu's head whipped to Ms. Orange Hair. The fear in his eyes once again fading as irritation rose in his expression.

"What the hell kind of greeting is that?"

Ms. Orange Hair turned and gave Mr. Tengu a small grin.

"Well, to be honest, I was kinda worried that she might overpower you. It wouldn't be that hard to imagine, after all."

There was no mocking edge to Ms. Orange Hair's voice. There was no taunting gleam in her eyes as she looked into her comrade's face. She honestly believed there was a chance that she—an injured girl with a broken wrist—could overpower a fully grown male.

Just how weak was Mr. Tengu?

"Don't say it like it's a damn certainty! I'm not that weak!"

He lifted his head up with a huff.

"The Great Captain Usopp can perfectly handle watching the pr- _guest."_

Mr. Tengu quickly amended that last word. And she noticed that, for a second, Ms. Orange Hair frowned at what he almost said.

But the frown immediately vanished as Ms. Orange hair smiled.

"Oh? Then maybe I should give you every future guard shifts if you're feeling so confident."

There was a dark gleam in her eyes now—and the gleam made her smile look sinister. Mr. Tengu immediately stiffened, recognizing the gleam, and suddenly began to sweat. He then let out several awkward chuckles.

"We-well I'd love to but…um…I have to help Sanji set the traps in the kitchen! Yeah, that's right!"

His mouth curled into a nervous smile.

"S-so sorry, Nami."

The navigator's eyes lost their dark gleam, but her grin had moved into a large smirk.

"I'm sure you are, Usopp."

Ms. Orange Hair then pointed a thumb towards the hatch.

"You can leave if you want to."

Mr. Tengu blinked.

"Huh? But…"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"I mean...are you sure you want to be with her alone?"

Ms. Orange Hair waved off his nervousness with another grin.

"I'll be fine, Usopp. Besides…"

Ms. Orange Hair trailed off, eyes glancing back to the hatch. And she heard the sound of footsteps coming from above.

"I won't be alone."

The navigator's lips twitched. Just for a moment, but she still saw it. Ms. Orange Hair was displeased about something, barely holding herself back from frowning.

And not even a second later, Princess Nefertari slowly stepped down the staircase. And the moment the princess was within range, Nefertari glared at her.

She met the princess' harsh look with a half-lidded gaze.

She heard Ms. Orange Hair let out a sigh. Looking away from the princess, she saw the navigator turning to face Mr. Tengu with what looked like a resigned expression.

"So, like I said, you can go now. Unless you want to stay and watch…"

Ms. Orange Hair pointed her hand at both her and the princess.

"This."

Mr. Tengu looked to Ms. Orange Hair and then to the Princess—who was still giving her a  _very_ intense glare. And after a moment, he swallowed

"I…think I'm good."

Mr. Tengu carefully moved around Ms. Orange Hair as he walked up the stairs; when he reached the princess, he took extra care as to not draw her attention. And then he left through the hatch and closed it behind him.

"So, how are your injuries?"

She turned back to Ms. Orange Hair, and the navigator was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you in more or less pain than yesterday?"

She did not respond. Ms. Orange Hair slowly walked down a few steps, the princess trailing a few feet behind the navigator

"Again, it would help if you actually spoke. Or nod. Or do anything, really."

Ms. Orange frowned as she waited for a response.

She continued to stare at the navigator with a half-lidded eye.

"God damn it kid, is this going to be a thing with you?"

Ms. Orange Hair rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I don't talk much."

When she spoke, Ms. Orange hair blinked, surprised she actually said something. The navigator looked at her with a confused expression.

It would be better to get this out of the way. She didn't want to have the same "conversation" with Ms. Orange Hair over and over again.

"Huh?"

"I only talk if I have to. If I feel like I don't have to, then I won't. It wouldn't be worth the effort to keep talking all the time."

Ms. Orange Hair stared at her.

"…So, what? Are you telling me that you're too lazy to talk all the time?"

Sure. Let's go with that.

"Essentially."

"Just checking."

Ms. Orange Hair let out a tiny sigh as she continued to walk down the staircase. Once Ms. Orange Hair reached the bottom, she looked towards the princess who was standing right behind her.

"You know, you don't have to be so close, Vi-."

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Nefertari Vivi's words were firm, but she still was not facing Ms. Orange Hair. Instead, the princess looked right into her half-closed eye, refusing to look away from her even for a moment.

Ms. Orange Hair sighed again.

"Fine…just, give me the medicine kit."

She glanced down at the object in the Princess' hands. It looked like a small grey toolbox, but it had a red cross poorly painted on the center. The color had faded though, now looking more like a rusty shade of maroon.

"I still think-."

"Vivi."

Ms. Orange Hair's eyes were narrowed as she held out her hand. The navigator had lowered her voice, and while it was not exactly  _threatening_ , that one word did make it obvious she did not want the princess to argue.

Princess Nefertari frowned as she looked away. She slowly gave Ms. Orange Hair the box as the princess muttered under her breath.

It sounded like "this is ridiculous."

"Thank you."

Ms. Orange Hair took the box and slowly walked towards the bed, and while the princess still stuck close to the navigator, she did give her a touch more space. Once Ms. Orange Hair was close enough, she crouched down in front of her and placed the kit on the nearby stool, smiling as she did so.

"And, if I were you, maybe I would just save us both the trouble and actually respond to my questions. It would get us out of your hair a lot faster."

That was about as far from the truth as possible. She was a prisoner on their ship, no matter what word they used for whatever reason, and she would be trapped here until she gave what the pirates—what the princess—wanted.

So, it would be in her best interest to figure out some way to get out of here before they decided to either torture her—without stopping this time—or until they grew tired of her silence and kill her.

She nodded her head at Ms. Orange Hair. The navigator's lips moved into a small grin.

"That's good to hea-."

Ms. Orange Hair did not finish as she quickly brought a hand to her mouth before letting out a small cough.

"Ahem, sorry about. Got something in my-."

Another cough interrupted Ms. Orange Hair. Followed by several more coughs. Ms. Orange Hairs shoulder shook as her coughs continued, chest heaving as the navigator turned her head away from her.

She watched with an emotionless expression as the princess dropped to Ms. Orange Hair's side. There was a worried expression on princess Nefertari's face as she placed on an arm around her friend's shoulder.

"Nami? Are you okay?"

Ms. Orange Hair continued to cough for a few more seconds until they eventually died down to small, dry hacks. Once she completely stopped, she turned her head to the Princess as her lips turned into a small smile.

"Ye-Yeah. I'm fine. Don't know where that came from."

Ms. Orange Hair let out several small chuckles. And…was Ms. Orange Hair sweating?

She narrowed her black eye. Yes, Ms. Orange Hair was sweating, even though it wasn't even that hot in the room. Weird.

"Are you sure you're fine?"

She turned and saw the concern in Princess Nefertari's eyes grow, but Ms. Orange Hair only grinned at the princess.

"Of course, Vivi. I've never been better."

Ms. Orange Hair turned towards her.

"Now than, I think it's time to change those bandages of yours."

Ms. Orange Hair grin became a small smile; and the princess scowled, slowly standing up and reaching into her pockets.

"If you try anything…"

The princess didn't finish, trailing off as her glare became harsher. And she did not need to see Nefertari Vivi's hand to know that she was gripping her weapon.

She glanced and saw that Ms. Orange Hair was frowning again—just the slightest hint of anger in her eyes. But a second later, the anger was gone.

"I think she gets the idea, Vivi."

Ms. Orange Hairs voice was not quite irritated, but it was rather close. Princess Nefertari noticed Ms. Orange Hair's tone; the princess' frown getting a little bit deeper as she looked down at Ms. Orange Hair.

The navigator gave her another small smile.

"So, like I said before, is there any spot that seems to be in more pain than yesterday?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Alright, that's good. In that case, let's see how your injuries are healing."

As Ms. Orange Hair reached towards her arm, the one in the cast, she glanced at the princess. Nefertari Vivi eyes were still in a harsh glare, and she could see the hand in her pocket twitch. If she made even the slightest move, the princess would act.

So, it was good thing she had no intention of trying anything. She was still trying to figure out some way to turn the situation she found herself in around, but so far, she came up with nothing.

Her half-lidded eye watched as Ms. Orange Hair gently grabbed her wrist. The navigator than began to unwrap the bandages on her arm. Once they were fully removed, she could see a large bruise on the side of her wrist. And she saw that her hand was somewhat limp; when she tried moving it, she had to make sure not to wince. This wasn't the first time she had broken her wrist on missions, but she was fairly certain it was the first time she had ever heard them snap like twigs.

She looked up and saw Ms. Orange Hair frowning before the navigator let out a sigh. Ms. Orange Hair then muttered something under her breath; the only words she could make out were "Damn" and "Zoro."

"Well, I don't think I need to tell you that your wrist is still broken. It's probably gonna be a while before you can actually use that hand again."

Really? What gave you that idea?

She said nothing to Ms. Orange Hair, eyes moving to her wrist. She could still use her other hand when she did have to fight again, but she needed paint.

She lifted her head and looked up at Ms. Orange Hair. Ms. Orange Hair noticed her staring and raised a brow.

"What?"

"Do you have my bobby pins?"

Ms. Orange Hair blinked, confusion rising within her expression.

This was not the first time she had been captured on a pirate ship. Though, she supposed in some ways it was the first time because the last few times she was "captured" were just ploys to take out the enemy pirates from within. And most of the times she had been "caught" the pirates usually kept around her palette. Sometimes to mock her and call her a brat and other times just because they didn't see a point in getting rid of such a "useless" object.

She remembered Roronoa's words from the other day. He said that they had "disarmed her," but he had not specified whether or not they threw away her palette. Which meant that perhaps her palette was still on board the ship. Sure, they knew about her abilities, but there was a chance they would be arrogant enough to keep her palette around anyway—believing that there was no way she could escape.

So, if they kept her pins—which would be pointless objects to keep—then there was at least a small chance that her palette was on the ship.

But besides that…having her pins back would be useful.

"Why do you ask?"

She turned her head to look at Nefertari, suspicion within the princess' eyes.

"I hate having my hair like this. I would prefer to shape it back into pigtails, and my pins would help keep it in place."

Her voice was emotionless as she stared at Nefertari Vivi; and the princess' expression became angrier with every moment, not at all pleased by her words.

"Do you think this is some cruise? We're not here to serve you."

Princess Nefertari glared at her, voice growing more severe with every word.

"You're lucky enough to even be alive so the last thing-!"

"Ah, sorry, but I think you lost those things in the ocean."

Nefertari Vivi did not finish as Ms. Orange Hair spoke, smile still in place as the navigator stared at her.

"If you'd like, I could give you some of mine."

Ms. Orange Hair turned her head towards the princess.

"Or maybe you have some we could use, Vivi?"

Ms. Orange Hair's voice had become cold. Her smile—which was stretching to the ends of her lips—now not only looked remarkably strained but also made the calm expression she wore look frightening; far more so than what should have been possible.

The message in Ms. Orange Hair voice was clear. Stop now while your ahead.

Or else.

The princess looked like she was about to shiver, but she stopped herself. Though, she did not miss the slight fear that rose in Nefertari's eyes as she swallowed. And for a moment, Nefertari Vivi almost looked hurt by the navigator's tone, but the look was gone not even a second later. The princess's lips then moved into a bitter frown before looking at the floor.

Ms. Orange Hair looked back at her; smile no longer forced and genuine. Or so it seemed.

"So again, sorry about losing your pins. But I don't really think braiding your hair is possible what with…"

The navigator glanced down to her broken wrist.

"You know."

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair, expression still emotionless.

"I suppose you are right."

Ms. Orange Hair was lying. They had her pins. The navigator was one of the better liars she had encountered, but still, she could tell. She could see the slight fidget of her right foot, the way her fingers dug just a touch deeper into her cheek. They were small things—things that most people would not see—but Mr. 3 taught her how to observe people for the little signs they make when they lie.

And if her pins were here, then that meant her palette might be here as well.

"Can you hold your arm up for a bit?"

She watched as Ms. Orange Hair reached towards the medicine kit with one arm. Ms. Orange Hair then opened the box and pulled out a roll of white gauze.

She nodded her head at the navigator's question, lifting her arm up and taking care not to move it to quickly to prevent another burst of pain.

And as Ms. Orange Hair began to wrap her arm again, she stared at the navigator with her hollow black eye.

She thought back to Ms. Orange Hair's previous actions. How she seemed disgusted by the fact that the princess was about to slice her to pieces with Roronoa's sword; how she seemed to hate every second of standing by and doing nothing due to her captain's orders. She had assumed that Ms. Orange Hair was just someone who did not have the stomach for torture. That she was a coward, though in a different way than Mr. Tengu; that Ms. Orange Hair did not want to face the reality of what it meant to be a pirate. It would not be the first time she had met someone like that; surprisingly, the Grand Line had just as many weak men and women as it did insanely strong people.

But now, Ms. Orange Hair was being kind to her when she had no reason to whatsoever; despite the fact that doing so would clearly anger some of her comrades. She had stopped the princess from speaking just because she did not seem to want Nefertari to shout at her. Just because she did not want her to feel threatened. And when she thought back to how Ms. Orange Hair only referred to her as a guest—becoming unsettled when the navigator realized just what exactly she was to her and the rest of the Straw Hats—Ms. Orange Hair seemed to take extra care in making her comfortable.

It seemed like Ms. Orange Hair was trying to be almost friendly towards her. Like she cared for her.

And for a moment—more like a second, really— she felt like rolling her eyes at Ms. Orange Hair, but that urge was extinguished as quickly as it came. She continued to stare at the navigator with her half-lidded eye.

Ms. Orange Hair  _seemed_ disgusted. She  _seemed_  distraught. She  _seemed_ to be kind. And all of those emotions—all of the expressions and all of the gestures Ms. Orange Hair made—could have been an act. She could have been an actor playing a part and trying to get her to lower her guard since the beginning. Waiting for just the right moment to strike.

She knew that is seemed unlikely; that it was perhaps too overly complex. After all, why would Ms. Orange Hair put up an act in front of her crewmates when it looked like she was going to die anyway? Why bother with all the theatrics afterward when there was seemingly no need?

But the chances of an enemy pirate being  _genuinely_   _kind_ to her were even more unlikely. She remembered a mission she once had with Miss Valentine where they had been sent to investigate a Marine Captain stationed near Alabasta. Apparently, the Captain had somehow found out certain information about Baroque Works; it had only been basic information about what they were as a criminal organization, but that was more than enough for the boss to task both her and Valentine with eliminating the Captain.

And once she and Valentine had taken care of the Captain's men—knocking out the Captain in the process—she had been planning on using Betrayal Black on the Marine to get him to tell them about any people he might have told about his findings. But Miss Valentine had said that she wanted to try an "alternate approach."

And so, the next eight hours were spent with Miss Valentine pretending to be a Marine nurse and claiming their ship belonged to the navy; Miss Valentine then got the captain to lower his guard with every minute she spoke to him. Miss Valentine had been nice to the Captain, flirted with him at times while she had watched from a hidden spot, and eventually, Valentine got him to tell her who exactly he told about Baroque Works. And once he did, Miss Valentine then spent the next hour using her Devil Fruit abilities to make the Captain suffer until he was nothing more than a hole in the ground.

And the reason why Miss Valentine had used such an unnecessary method instead of just letting her hypnotize the Captain?

_Because the faces idiots like him make when they realize just_ what  _I am is absolutely wonderful. Kyahahaha!_

Kindness was just as effective a weapon as any Devil Fruit or gun. And sadist—especially the very good ones—had a habit of using it to make their future victim's death all the more enjoyable.

Which was why she was prepared for Ms. Orange Hair to try and further worsen her broken wrist at any moment; thus beginning another torture session. She was not an idiot. She would not ever let her guard down around these pirates.

And if they thought she would, then they would be disappointed.

Ms. Orange Hair had finished wrapping her arm back in another scaphoid cast; and the navigator had not tried to do anything that might damage her already broken wrist. Ms. Orange Hair then smiled at her.

"Great. Now, let's check on that eye of yours."

Ms. Orange Hair hands moved to the bandage covering her eye, and she felt the navigator's fingers slowly removing the bandage.

And once it was finally off, she realized that her eye was more damaged then she originally thought.

It was almost like waking up from a nap; her sight from her left was blurry to the extreme and she could only make out vague shapes through the distorted vision in her damaged eye. The light from the room stung her left eye to the point where it took some effort to keep it open. She could actually feel the bloated and swollen skin around her eye, and when she tried to move her eyeball, she found it wouldn't move in the slightest.

Ms. Orange Hair frowned as she looked at her injured eye.

"Yeah…your eye might take a while to heal."

What a stunning diagnosis.

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair as the navigator continued.

"Though, it looks better than it did yesterday."

Ms. Orange Hair was not lying when she said that. But going by how her eye twitched with pain just because she was keeping it open, the navigator just meant that her eye was somehow even worse yesterday then it was now. And if her eye looked half as bad as it felt, then she would not be surprised if Roronoa popped several blood vessels when he hit her.

"Oh, sorry!"

There was worry in Ms. Orange Hair's expression as the navigator's eyes widened—just a tad, but she noticed.

"I should've put on the bandage already. Just hold on!"

Ms. Orange Hair must have seen her eye twitching and had assumed she was in pain, which was not wrong. She watched as the navigator reached into the medicine kit, fretting through the contents within the box as quickly as she could.

She would give Ms. Orange Hair this; the navigator was definitely one of the better actors she had seen since she came to the Grand Line. Though, Ms. Orange Hair was not  _that_ good—nowhere near the level of some of the men she had encountered.

Within a few minutes, another bandage was placed over her eye. She had been prepared for Ms. Orange Hair to try anything; such as jabbing her thumb into her eye or maybe sticking her fingernail in one of her cuts. But Ms. Orange Hair only secured the gauze around her eye.

"There we go."

Ms. Orange Hair leaned back and looked her over.

"All that's left is…"

Ms. Orange Hair trailed off, frowning. And it took her a second to figure out what she was about to say.

All that was left were the bandages under her shirt.

Which meant she would have to strip.

Her eye was still emotionless as she stared at Ms. Orange Hair, and the navigator's lips were now a thin line.

Well, it was not like she could exactly refuse to take off her shirt. She could not fight back even if she wanted to.

She glanced at Princess Nefertari, who was still glaring at her.

The last thing she needed was for the princess or any of these pirates to think that she was willing to put up any sort of resistance. Right now, she had to appear complacent; she had to be willing to do whatever these pirates asked of her.

Which meant, she had to take off her shirt. Which meant, she would have to show her back—and everything on there.

She looked at Ms. Orange Hair with the same empty expression. Ms. Orange Hair looked troubled now as the silence in the room grew. Truly, she was a good actor; trying to make her feel like the navigator sympathized with how 'uncomfortable' this would be for her.

And yes, this would suck, of that there was no question. But still, she had to do it. She had to take of her shirt and let the pirate and princess see her back.

Her expression was emotionless as Ms. Orange Hair slowly opened her mouth.

This was for the mission. For the mission. The mission. It wouldn't matter in the long run. Because the moment she thought of a coherent plan, every pirate here would die. Painfully.

"Maybe I don't-."

Ms. Orange Hair never finished. Because the moment she started speaking, the ship was rocked on its side. She could feel it shudder as the room she was in swerved. Ms. Orange Hair let out a tiny yelp as the chair she was on slid along the floor. Princess Nefertari stumbled to the side, but almost immediately regained her balance. And while she had been sitting up in the bed, she had to grab onto the mattress just to make sure she did not fall off the edge.

Once she stopped sliding, Ms. Orange Hair looked up, scowling.

"Oh, what are those idiots-?"

Once again, Ms. Orange did not finish. But this time, the ship did not lurch. This time, it was rocked on its side like  _something_ slammed into its hull. The bookcase in the room did not shake; instead, it just crashed into the ground as its contents spilled across the cabin. Ms. Orange Hair fell off her seat and onto her back as her chair hit the ground. Princess Nefertari once again stumbled but this time could not correct herself as she fell face first onto the floor.

And she was practically flung out of her bed. She did not even have time to brace herself before she crashed right into the princess' back. She had not landed on her wrist nor hit her injured eye, but she had landed on basically every other injury on her body, and it cried out in pain the moment she made contact with the princess. She actually had to fight to keep her expression blank as she suppressed the urge to yell.

Unfortunately, the moment the ship stopped swaying like it was in a monsoon and the princess noticed her on her back, Nefertari Vivi swung her arm around and hit her left side.

"Get off!"

The princess swung her arm at a bad angle, so the blow did not have as much strength as it could have had. But it did not really matter because it still had enough strength to send her off Nefertari's back and into the side of the bed. And this time she could not stop herself from shouting as another wave of agony swept over her body.

"Kid!"

She did not look up when Ms. Orange Hair shouted; she was too busy trying to push past the pain as she let out several coughs. Her hands were on the floor as she tried to focus on the floorboard and ignore the stabbing sensation that now plagued all of her wounds.

"Vivi, what the hell!"

She slowly looked up—still coughing and the pain not dying nearly quick enough—and saw Ms. Orange Hair glaring at the princess, anger contorting her expression. Nefertari did not look away from Ms. Orange Hair's gaze as the princess' stood up.

"I am not having this conversation-!"

Whatever the princess was about to say died once the ship started shaking again. Not nearly as violently as the last time, but still more than enough to make everyone in the room once again stagger. Ms. Orange Hair once again fell to the floor, but both her and Nefertari were able to stay standing—well, crouching in her case.

Princess Nefertari looked up at the ceiling, eyes narrowing.

"Something's wrong. Even they wouldn't be this reckless."

She was still coughing when Nefertari Viv looked down towards her, the princess expression becoming contemplative. Nefertari than glanced to Ms. Orange Hair, who had gotten up and was now glaring at the princess. And she saw the navigator glance down at her for a moment while she continued to cough.

Princess Nefertari frowned.

And then the princess ran forward, grabbed her by her broken wrist, and dragged her up. She immediately gnashed her teeth together, pain erupting within her wrist as her eye went wide.

"What the-Vivi!"

She heard the outrage in Ms. Orange Hair shout as the princess began to run towards the stairs; she did her best to keep pace with the princess.

"You're coming with me!"

Both her and the princess were running up the stairs. And the fact that her entire body was still very much injured and how Nefertari Vivi was grabbing her wrist hard enough that she could feel it through the gauze only made it that much harder to keep up; several times she let out tiny groans of pain until they finally reached the top step underneath the hatch.

The princess tightened her grip even further on her wrist just as Nefertari opened the hatch; she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from hissing.

The boss would be fine if the princess arrived to him a  _tad_ injured, right? Because, right now, she didn't see any way that the princess wasn't getting hurt when she finally did come up with some way to escape.

They had entered a large cabin. Stacks of barrels were piled up in one corner, two cannons on opposite sides of the room were pointed out through large holes, and she saw more barrels and crates scattered throughout the cabin. This was the canon deck; which apparently was right above Ms. Orange Hair's and Princess Nefertari's room. She wasn't sure if this information would be useful, but just in case she took in every detail of the room as the princess dragged her and-.

She had to bite on her tongue again—hard enough where she could taste blood—as her wrist once again roared with pain. The princess turned her head to glare at her once they reached entrance door to the cabin.

"Try anything and-!"

"Oh, let me guess, you'll break my other wrist?"

Her voice was full of sarcasm as she matched the glare Princess Nefertari sent her, panting slightly as she tried to catch her breath.

"It won't just be your wrist."

The princess spoke those words in an almost inaudible voice, but she still heard. And in the next moment, the princess pushed the door open and dragged her outside.

The first thing she noticed when she stepped on the deck was that it was dark out, even though she knew it supposed to be at least midday by now. The second thing was that the agonizing grasp on her wrist was gone. Turning, she saw that the princess was no longer even looking at her, and instead staring up; Nefertari looked shocked at whatever she was seeing. She followed the princess' gaze as she lifted her head up.

And blinked.

She then blinked again.

Because what she saw…wasn't good.

"Okay, that's it!"

She could hear Ms. Orange Hair running towards them from the canon deck as the navigator screamed; but she didn't turn to face the voice. Nor did she turn when she heard a door being practically kicked down.

"Vivi you are seriously-!"

She didn't have to turn around to know that Ms. Orange Hair's expression had become just as shocked as the princess'; whatever words the navigator was about to say quickly died.

Because she knew that Ms. Orange Hair was now staring at the same thing she and the princess were staring at. The thing that, she just now realized, was currently blocking out the sun.

With an emotionless expression, she let out a long,  _very irritated_ sigh.

She saw its scales—bright blue, curved like dented teeth—dripping with buckets worth of water as it stood its full height. She saw the rows of jagged, sharp teeth that could rip warships to shreds. She could see the width of its body was at least half the size of the ship. And she could see a Dorsal fin that stretched from the top of its head all the way to the parts of its serpentine-like body that were still underwater.

And its eyes—small, round, with deep red pupils—even though they were so far away…she saw they held nothing but anger.

…God, damn it. A Sea King? Seriously?

She saw the Sea King was glaring at something. She followed its gaze, and her head slowly lowered until she was staring right at Monkey D. Luffy. She also saw that a few feet away clinging to the main mast was Mr. Tengu, trembling in abject terror as he stared at the Sea King with unshed tears in his eyes; and just below him was the duck doing the exact same thing.

"You've got to be kidding me."

She turned her head and saw that right above her on the quarterdeck, Mr. Dartboard Brow was glaring at the Sea King, eyebrow visibly twitching—she also saw Ms. Orange Hair and Princess Nefertari's expression go from shocked to horrified, their mouths now hanging open. Next to Mr. Dartboard Brow, Roronoa covered his face with a hand; and she heard the swordsman groan.

"Oh, hey!"

She turned back and saw Monkey D. Luffy starting at her. His entire attention was on her and not the Sea King that was currently glaring at him; she did not know Sea Kings even could glare. Monkey D. Luffy then tilted his head to one side.

"You're up. That mean you're feeling better?"

The captain's voice was casual. Almost like he was trying to have a conversation with her, even with imminent death hanging above his head.

She blinked.

It was at that moment, the Sea King roared. The sound it made was loud enough to billow the sails as she quickly covered her ears. Somehow, the sound the Sea King made was even more primal than the roars of the literal dinosaurs she had heard back on Little Garden.

But even with that incredibly loud roar, she could still hear three sets of female shrieks. Two of them belonged to Ms. Orange Hair and Princess Nefertari, and the last one belonged to Mr. Tengu. She was honestly surprised human beings could scream that loud. Without being tortured, anyway.

The Sea King then moved. From underneath the sea, it raised its long tail up into the air; and that simple action created waves of water that slammed into the ship. It continued to raise its tail until it was about halfway up to its body.

And then it brought it down with another deafening roar. Its tail slammed into the ocean with enough power to cause a massive tidal wave that headed right for the ship.

She sucked in a long breath and held it, bringing up her uninjured hand to her nose and clenching it shut. This was gonna suck.

"Oh, shi-!"

Ms. Orange did not finish as the wave struck the ship. And then water submerged her as she was swept off her feet. All she could feel was the water rushing against her skin as the wave continued to push her backward; her body careened through the wave until she eventually stopped when she hit something with her back, agony once again erupting everywhere as she felt some of her wounds beginning to open up. It took a lot of effort not to let out a gasp, but she managed.

Slowly, the water level descended—the wave must have passed over the edges of the ship by now—and once her head was not underwater, she gasped and took in as much air as she could. Her body and clothing were now completely soaked as she let out several harsh coughs. She looked behind her and saw that she had crashed right into the side of the ship.

Turning her head, she saw that a few feet away from her to the right was Roronoa; the swordsman was on his knees as he coughed sprays of water. Near the stairs, Princess Nefertari and Ms. Orange Hair were shakily trying to get back onto their feet. And all the way down the side of the ship she saw Mr. Tengu near the bottom of the forecastle deck with both hands over the edge and holding onto something. Lifting her head, she saw that Mr. Tengu was holding onto the bottom part of the duck's talon; and the duck squawked in fear as it furiously flapped its wings to try and get away from the water. She also saw that Mr. Tengu was grabbing onto the stretched cheek of Monkey D. Luffy, who looked exhausted as his eyes were almost fully closed.

Right. The captain was probably a lot weaker now that he had been submerged in water. Which meant that he would not be back to full strength for a while.

She heard the Sea King let out another primal roar. She turned and saw the Sea King fast approaching the ship, speeding through the ocean until its head slammed right into the hull of the ship. There was an echoing crack, and splinters of wood shoot into the air as the entire ship was pushed from the force. The strength from the Sea King's head-butt was more than enough to tilt the ship as the deck was once again rocked.

And when the deck bounced up from the Sea King's attack, she was sent flying right over the edge. Her one eye went wide as she could already see herself hitting the ocean, where she'd be an easy target for the Sea King if it noticed her.

Shi-!

Not even a second after she was flung over the edge, a hand suddenly clamped around her shirt. Roronoa's hand. The swordsman was leaning precautiously over the ship—one hand grabbing the edge and having trouble keeping his balance on the still rocking deck. But in less than a second, he pulled her back with one quick tug and placed her sitting down on the deck. She looked up once the deck stopped shaking and saw that Roronoa was not facing her, and instead back at the Sea King as it raised its tail again.

"Shit!"

Roronoa quickly picked up his swords from the floor and ran forward. Mr. Dartboard Brow—who had been swept up to the quarterdeck from the wave—jumped down to the main deck before running alongside with Roronoa. The Sea King had once again brought its tail down to the ship just as Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow reached the opposite end of the deck and jumped into the air.

She saw Roronoa crossing his swords in front of his chest as Mr. Dartboard Brow pulled back one of his legs, both of the pirates heading right for the oncoming tail. Once it was in range, the two pirates moved; Roronoa slashing with his swords as Mr. Dartboard Brow lashed out with a roundhouse kick, both moving so quickly she did not see their attack actually make contact.

But when the sound of flesh getting both sliced and pounded reached her ears, the massive serpent cried out in pain as blood erupted from its tail. The tail did not stop it in its track, but Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow's attack had been able to force it away from the ship. For the most part.

Because as the tail was sent rocketing to the side and away from the ship, it slammed into the side of the crow's nest before it crashed back into the sea. The tail had only skimmed the crow's nest, but that was still more than enough to shatter at least half of it on impact; wood and splinters shot into the air as Mr. Tengu screamed, staring at the crow's nest with tears in his wide eyes.

"Merry!"

Merry? Who was-oh, wait. Was that what they called their ship?

She turned and watched as Mr. Dartboard Brow and Roronoa land back on the deck as they once again looked ready to jump back at the Sea King; and the Sea King now looked ready for another strike as it roared, once again reeling its tail back.

But once the Sea King's roar died, she heard something. She lifted her head up to the crow's nest where she thought the sound was coming from.

And thanks to the fact that half of it was now gone, she could see a silver can rolling on the remains of the crow's nest. She watched as the can approached the edge of the destroyed wooden platform before it fell off and crashed down to the deck below. It bounced a few times along the deck before eventually coming to a stop.

And once it did, the lid came off and bright yellow paint spilled from the can onto the main deck.

…Huh.

She turned and looked at Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow flipping backward in the air, the Sea King once again crying as it seemed like even more blood dripped down its tail. She looked at Ms. Orange Hair and Princess Nefertari who were on the stairs to the quarterdeck, the former shouting cheers at her comrades while hiding behind the princess' back.

And then she turned around and saw that Mr. Tengu's eyes were wide—even more so than just a second ago—as he stared at the growing puddle of paint; he had stopped lifting Straw Hat up from the sea as the captain's body slumped around the upper side of the ship. And standing on the edge only a few feet away from the captain was the duck, face full of fear as it also stared at the paint can.

They kept an entire bucket of paint on board with her on the ship; which meant her palette may still be here as well. These pirates really were overly confident idiots. The only thing they could have done worse was if they kept paintbrushes in the same spo-.

When she turned her head back to the crow's nest, she saw about five different paintbrushes—not like her own, these had thick handles with wide tufts of bristle hairs— falling from the broken platform and onto the main deck, only a few feet away from the puddle; most likely they had been just teetering on the edge before finally falling off.

She stared at the paintbrushes for a second.

Never mind, they were even dumber than she thought.

She turned back to Mr. Tengu. And at the same time, he turned to look at her along with the duck; and possibly Straw Hat, though his eyes were droopy so it was hard to tell. She then turned to all the other pirates and lone princess and saw that their attention was still on the looming Sea King. Most of the Straw Hats did not even realize what happened.

She looked back to Mr. Tengu, the duck and Monkey D. Luffy.

She then sprinted for the puddle of paint.

"What-shit! Guys-!"

Mr. Tengu's panicking shouts were interrupted by the Sea king roar, deafening any other sound on the ship. She quickly looked around as she ran and saw that no one had looked away from the Sea King, the serpent lowering its body back into the water.

She was about halfway towards the puddle and brushes, her one eye narrowing. She had to hurry or else-.

**"Lead Star!"**

She heard several snaps. And then, something, three somethings, in fact, slammed into her already bruised back. She could not fight back the painful shout that left her lips as whatever hit her—they were round and metallic, she could feel that—dug deeper into her back. She stumbled, and then she fell down to the deck in a tumble as she felt blood leak from her back.

"What-oh, oh crap. So-!"

She did not hear the rest of Mr. Tengu's panicked shouting as the Sea King let out another roar. She pushed herself off the ground, ignoring the agony on her back, and looked up.

She saw Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow once again engaging the Sea King as it tried to take a bite out of the hull, sword slashes and kicks going up against teeth that could tear battleships and somehow holding the teeth back.

And she saw Ms. Orange Hair and the princess staring at her from the stairs. And then they both looked to the paint and brushes that was so close to her.

She grit her teeth and stood up as fast as she could.

"Carue! Stop her!"

She did not turn to Nefertari when she heard the princess' furious shout. Instead, she turned her head behind her and saw the duck charging away from Mr. Tengu and Straw Hat towards her, squawking every step. It ran as fast as it did back on Little Garden, within seconds it would be right in front of her and attacking.

In an instant, she glanced everywhere, trying to see if there was  _anything_ she could use to help her. And when her eye looked down, she saw three pellets rolling on the deck.

Without wasting another second, she scooped up the pellets with one hand. Taking careful aim, she threw them at the duck's feet just as it was only a few feet away. She saw the pellets go right under its talon just as it took another step forward.

And then she watched as the duck slipped on the pellets with a loud squawk, eyes wide as saucers, as it was sent flying through the air; the duck going over her head and right towards the main mast where it crashed face first.

She was already up and running again the moment the duck started to slump back to the floor. Ignoring her back, ignoring the blood and the pain, she ran as fast she could to the puddle of paint. With a glance, she saw Roronao and Mr. Dartboard Brow land back on the ship, panting slightly, as the Sea King roared towards the sky. Mr. Tengu had yet to fire at her again, maybe because the rocking ship hindered his aim, but at any moment he could shoot her so she had to hurry across the deck before he had the chance.

And she was almost to the puddle. Just a little bit more…

She turned her head back to the princess and Ms. Orange Hair.

And she saw the princess Peacock Slasher heading towards her, the pointed green jewel aimed right at her damaged eye.

She quickly ducked her head, avoiding the jewel. Or, so she thought. Her depth perception was messed up due to her eye, and she had misjudged the exact height of the jewel and wire heading towards her. She thought that it had been high in the air and aiming for her eye, but instead it had been lower. So when she ducked down, she had not completely dodged the wire.

Instead, the jewel had made a gash on the side of her neck as it sliced across her skin. It did not hit a vein, probably, and even if it did it was too small to cause any instant problems. But it did make blood gush from her neck in small sprays of scarlet red. She ignored the sharp pain that rose from the new wound.

Because she had finally reached the puddle. And while she ran, she reached out and grabbed a paintbrush with her good hand, quickly dipped it—slammed really—into the puddle until it was soaking with yellow.

Account for lack of vision. It's been a while since you drew a symbol with your other hand, so expect some uneasiness from the strokes. Do not miss.

She looked ahead and saw Mr. Dartboard Brow and Roronoa once again preparing to jump once the Sea King finished its roar; the massive serpent reared its head back before thrusting itself forward, jaw wide and open.

And it was at that moment she shouted.

**"Colors Trap-!"**

She moved her the brush in swift strokes. And her shout had finally drawn the attention of Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard brow, the two pirates turning around as their eyes widened once they saw her.

She saw her familiar symbol floating in the air.

**"-Laughter Yellow!"**

And then her Colors Trap blasted through the air. The circular symbol went flying forward.

Right over Roronoa's and Mr. Dartboard Brow's head.

Right over the edge of the ship.

And then it crashed right into the center of the Sea King's forehead. Laughter Yellow became etched onto the Sea King's blue scales as the massive serpent stopped moving, teeth far too close to the ship.

A familiar rush went through her, and then it left.

She watched as the Sea King eyes suddenly became hazy; the massive serpent almost seemed to forget about the people and ship it wanted to maim. The Sea King then slowly lifted its head up into the air; and then it stared at the sky, not even moving in the slightest.

And then it laughed.

It was not a human laugh; the sound it made was not anything like "hahaha" or "hehehe," she was pretty sure it did not have either the right lips or the right set of lungs to do that. It was kind of like hissing, but more throaty and sporadic. There were unshed tears in the Sea King's eyes as its body shook.

And a wide, absolutely ridiculous grin stretched across its face, only seeming to grow with every second.

Her empty eye watched as the Sea King continued to laugh.

"Its…laughing?"

She turned and saw Mr. Tengu walking towards her, eyes wide with shock as he stared at the Sea King.

"No, it's singing a song."

Her sarcastic reply made Mr. Tengu wince, the long-nosed coward turning to face her. She looked away from Mr. Tengu and then turned to face the other pirates. Mr. Dartboard Brow's eyebrow was raised past his yellow bangs, Roronoa looked at her with an impassive expression, Ms. Orange Hair was confused and Princess Nefertari…was sprawled on the floor of the main deck? Hadn't the princess been on the stairs next to Ms. Orange Hair?

Nefertari must have fallen off or something. It did not matter. What did matter was the shocked expression on the princess' face. Nefertari, and the rest of the pirates for that matter, had not expected her to do something like this.

Slowly, she walked away from the pirates and headed towards the main mast; the duck had finally picked itself up and saw her approaching before it let out a squawk and ran away.

"The symbol won't last. Its skin's dripping with water. At best, you have three minutes."

Her voice was quiet and soft as she spoke; once she reached the mast, she propped her back against it—fighting against a wince—before slumping down onto the floor.

"If I were you people, I would go for the Sea King's eyes. Or its snout."

She turned her head to the right and saw Monkey D. Luffy, who had finally gathered his strength again, standing a few feet away from and staring at her with a blank expression. She was not sure when he approached her, but she did not really care right now. Because right now, she was in so,  _so_ much pain. Everything hurt; her head, her back, no part of her body was free of at least a burning ache.

Her expression was still emotionless as she placed a hand on the wound on her neck, which was bigger than she thought, and felt the blood dripping down her fingers as Straw Hat looked into her empty eyes.

"You and your crew better act now."

Straw Hat continued to star at her for a few more moments.

And then, he grinned. A wide grin that showed off his teeth as he chuckled.

"Thanks."

Straw Hat then whipped his head towards his crew.

"Zoro! Sanji!"

She glanced and saw the two pirates nodding their heads.

"Let's go!"

Monkey D. Luffy stretched his arms, his limbs getting longer and longer with every second. One arm wrapped around the railing on the quarterdeck like rubber snakes and the other arm did the same to the spar at the top of the sail.

**"Gomu Gomu no…"**

Just as Straw Hat began to say the name of his attack, Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow sprinted towards their captain. And once they were close enough, they jumped and landed on Monkey D. Luffy; Roronoa landed on Straw Hat's stomach and Mr. Dartboard Brow on his face with one leg.

But Straw Hat did not fall back from the sudden weight of his crewmates. Instead, his stomach and face sank around his crewmates' limbs, the rubber skin stretching as more of the pirates' limbs continued to sink further.

And then Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow shouted at the same time.

**"Rocket!"**

In an instant, Monkey D. Luffy's skin shot back into place, snapping like a rubber band. And in the process, both Roronoa and Mr. Dartboard Brow were sent flying high into the air. Right towards the Sea King that was still laughing and had not even noticed the two pirates flying towards it.

She saw Roronao pulling his swords behind his back as Mr. Dartboard Brow raised one leg towards his chest. And once they were right in front of the Sea King's eyes—Roronoa the left and Mr. Dartboard Brow the right—they struck; Roronoa bringing his swords down right into the center of the serpent's eye and Mr. Dartboard Brow thrusting his leg forward as his shoe drove into the other eye. And the moment both kick and sword hit the Sea King's pupils, an almost literal geyser of blood erupted into the air.

The Sea King screamed; not cried, that would be underselling just how much pain was in its voice. She could see just how much agony the Sea King was now in just by looking at its face as the serpent screamed even louder, blood leaking from its closed eyes like tears.

And then, the scream slowly turned into something else.

Laughter.

Well, "laughter"might not have been the right word. It was more like it's agonized scream had suddenly mixed with joy-filled laughs and had turned into something new. Part ever growing pain, another part enormous cheer. The sounds that left its mouth were full of both agony and intense happiness.

And she suddenly felt like a Sea King with blood running down its eyes like tears, smiling like a maniac as it made a sound that was an abomination of both a laugh and a scream, would make an excellent painting. But she only had yellow paint on her. Damn it. If it'd been blue, then maybe she could make something on the deck or-.

She shook her head. And she saw Mr. Dartboard and Roronoa both land back on the deck near the edge, both covered in the Sea King's blood. The two of them were frowning as they looked at the Sea King, and she could see that Mr. Dartboard Brow was disturbed by what he was seeing.

"God, that's creepy."

Roronoa glanced at Mr. Dartboard Brow, and then towards her; his eyes lingering on her slumped and injured form. He then looked back to the Sea King.

"No shit, cook."

The moment Roronoa finished speaking, a snapping sound echoed throughout the ship. And Monkey D. Luffy shot through the air like a bullet, arms retracting from their handholds and going back to his sides.

**"Gomu Gomu no-"**

In an instant, Straw Hat was already in front of the Sea King's snout.

**"-Gattling!"**

And then he moved. Monkey D. Luffy's arm seemed to multiply as he threw rapid fire punches of stretchy, elongated fists right into the Sea King's snout. Straw Hat's arms moved so fast they began to blur, every hit that landed on the Sea King made a crunching sound like bones breaking; the Sea King was no longer 'laughing' as it released an agonized screech with every fist that smashed into every part of its face.

And with one last punch right into its snout, the Sea King's head was sent lurching back as the rest of its body soon followed. With an immense splash, the Sea King fell back into the ocean.

As the droplets of water sprayed the ship, she looked at the spot where it sank into the ocean. Beneath the water, she could see a large dark shape moving around. And then the shape vanished like it was never there in the first place.

"Is…is it over?"

Mr. Tengu had moved and was now standing over the edge and looking down to the sea.

"Probably."

Roronoa's voice was nonchalant as the swordsman put his katanas back in their sheaths.

"Please don't say 'probably.' 'Probably' means that there's a chance that thing will come back. And I don't think my heart can take that."

The fear in Mr. Tengu's words grew as the man started to tremble, eyes still staring at the sea.

But the Sea King would not come back. At this point, it had gone through too much trouble just to get a small meal; and now it would return to whatever space in the sea it called a home and recover from its injuries. They were lucky it was not an adult Sea King. The one that had attacked the ship was still relatively small—compared to most Sea Kings—so it was most likely a child. And child Sea Kings generally were not as determined as their fully-grown counterparts.

She sighed, closing her eye. It was good that the Sea King was gone now. Because she  _really_ didn't want to have to get up again and move again.

"So…"

Mr. Tengu was speaking again. And she did not need to open her eyes to know that he everyone else on the deck was now staring at her.

"Um…does anyone wanna-?"

Mr. Tengu was interrupted by the sound of rubber snapping back and forth. And that sound was coming from right in front of her. She cracked her eye open.

And she saw Monkey D. Luffy hanging upside down in front of her. His legs were stretching all the way to the crows nest where they wrapped around the broken planks. Right. She lost track of him after he finished punching the Sea King. He must have stretched himself back to the ship and waited near the top of the sails.

Straw Hat was still bouncing up and down—down and up from his perspective—as he stared at her, rubbing his chin with one hand while the other kept his hat in place; there was Sea King blood on his knuckles.

"Luffy, what are you doing!?"

Turning her head, she saw the princess taking several steps forward as she shouted, the duck by the princess' side and glaring at her injured body. Concern rose within the princess' eyes as she glanced from Monkey D. Luffy to her and then to the paintbrush.

The paintbrush that was still dripping with bright yellow paint.

With another glance, she saw the rest of the pirates were all tense. Roronoa's hands were on his swords, Ms. Orange Hair's expression seemed to be a mix of worry and uncertainty as she stared, Mr. Tengu hand hovered over his satchel with a nervous expression, and Mr. Dartboard Brow was hesitant as he looked at her.

Most of the reactions she expected. Here she was, injured, yes, but with a paintbrush that could very easily take most of them out. All it would take would be for her to swing her arm in her practiced strokes and she could have about seven different symbols heading right towards the pirates and the princess and her pet in an instant. She would not waste her symbols on Roronoa though; that would be pointless.

All it would take was just a few twirls of her wrist, and she could begin her assault.

"Hey, do you want a bandage for that?"

Monkey D. Luffy nodded towards the gash on her neck; there was still blood dripping from the hand covering it no matter how much pressure she put on it.

She stared at Straw Hat, eyes unblinking. She then looked at the pirates and the princess, all of who were still tense and still prepared for her to try anything.

She threw away the paintbrush in her hand.

"I would appreciate one."

The moment those words left her lips, the pirates and princess' expressions became varying degrees of shocked.

Except for Straw Hat. He just continued to look at her with the same blank expression, staring right into her half-lidded eye without even blinking.

"Okay."

When that one word left Straw Hat's mouth, she sighed; she was feeling rather lightheaded right now.

She knew when to pick her battles. She knew how to prioritize. And trying to attack the Straw Hat's when she did not have even one percent of a plan was suicide. As would allowing a Sea King to kill everyone on board, because then she just be stranded in the middle of the sea.

No. She had to wait; she had to think. To come up with a way to not only deal with the pirates and take over their ship, but also to get the princess back to the boss.

Recklessly fighting pirates when she was already injured and had only two colors to work with would be asinine to the extreme.

_When one schemes, no detail can be overlooked. Gather as much information as you can about the situation, and then work from there. Taking chances when there is no need is the mark of the biggest fools._

She could practically see Mr.3's stern look as she remembered those words. Words that just might help her get out of this mess.

* * *

"So, to be clear, this is his fault?"

"Yep."

Miss Goldenweek watched as Ms. Orange Hair stood over Straw Hat and Mr. Tengu, both of them kneeling on the main deck. The navigator was glaring at her captain, expression  _very_ annoyed.

She rubbed her neck where a thick white bandage had been placed on there not even five minutes after she threw away the brush by Ms. Orange Hair. She had been given a towel and had tried to dry herself off, but with soaking wet clothes it was rather hard to do so. She was on the quarterdeck of the ship behind the railings, Roronoa sat only a few feet away from her with his back up against the front of the lounge; no longer dripping with blood but now more like lightly coated with it. She did not have to turn around to know that his eyes were honed right onto her.

And right below her, she could see Princess Nefertari looking at from the corner of her eye; the princess duck right by her side and rubbing its beak with one wing.

"Luffy…"

Ms. Orange Hair's voice became even harsher, the one word she spoke was full of exasperation.

" _Please_  tell me what exactly it was you did."

She saw Ms. Orange Hair visible gritting her teeth as she massaged the bridge of her nose with two fingers.

She did not quite know what she was watching. To her, it almost looked like the navigator was about to scold someone.

Straw Hat tilted his head to the side before he spoke, placing one hand under his chin as he looked up the sky.

"Well, me and Usopp were just fishing, but we didn't catch anything. I was getting bored and Usopp was saying something about sandwiches-."

"Castles. Sand _castles,_ Luffy."

Mr. Tengu sighed as Straw Hat turned his head to look at the coward. The captain then nodded his head.

"Oh, right. So anyway, I saw something moving in the water; it looked all big and shadowy. But when I told Usopp about it, it disappeared. He thought I was lying, which was kinda mean!"

Straw Hat narrowed his eyes at Mr. Tengu. And when Mr. Tengu noticed the look Straw Hat had on, he sputtered.

"Wha-don't give me that look! When you pointed at the ocean there was nothing there!"

"But there was!"

Straw Hat threw his arms up into the air. And it almost sounded like the captain was…whining.

Straw Hat quickly turned his head back to Ms. Orange hair as he placed his arms back on his knees.

"So Usopp didn't believe me, and when he turned around, I saw the shadowy thing again, and it looked even bigger than before! It even hit the ship and rocked it!"

Monkey D. Luffy frowned again.

"But when I tried to get Usopp to see it, it disappeared again."

No, wait. Straw Hat  _was_ whining. Almost like a child.

"So Usopp called me a liar again, and I told him that he was the liar not me. So then we argue, and when I'm poking him in the face, I see the thing again. And this time it looked almost as big as Merry!

Ms. Orange Hair's eye twitched.

"And then?"

"Then I punched it."

"What!?"

Straw Hat did not even blink at Ms. Orange Hair's shout. Nor did he seem to care about the anger rising in the navigator's face.

Mr. Tengu slowly scooted away from his captain just as Straw Hat continued.

"Yeah. I was worried that Usopp wouldn't see it again, so I thought if I grabbed it then there was no way it could disappear again. So, I stretched my arm to try and grab it, but I ended up punching it by accident in the…eye? I don't really know, it was underwater; it kinda felt like an eye. But anyway, after I hit it, it popped out of the ocean and nearly knocked the ship over."

Ms. Orange Hair's twitching grew worse. The navigator took a few steps forward until she was right in front of Straw Hat. She then crouched down, grabbed the inside of Monkey D. Luffy's cheeks, and lifted him up off his feet.

"You are seriously going to get us killed one day!"

Ms. Orange Hair shook Straw Hat back and forth, pulling on the captain's cheeks and stretching them as wide as she could.

And she blinked as she watched the two pirates from behind the railing. She didn't understand why Straw Hat was allowing the navigator to throttle him like that; like she was in charge of him. Even though he hadn't allowed Ms. Orange Hair to argue against his decision to let the princess do whatever she wanted to her, for some reason he wasn't telling the navigator to stop.

If anything, he looked like he was smiling, even with stretched out cheeks, as Ms. Orange Hair shook him and continued to disrespect him.

"Luffy, would it kill you to be more careful in the future?!"

Ms. Orange Hair's eyes narrowed as she continued to shout.

"I mean, a Sea King!? Of all the times, you being stupid has caused us some kind of trouble, that was easily in the top twenty!"

Well, technically the Sea King probably would have attacked them regardless if Straw Hat hit it or not. Once a Sea King sets its eyes on any ship, they would attack it and nothing would stand in its way.

"But we beat it."

Straw Hat's words only made even more anger rise in Ms. Orange Hair's eyes.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we should make a habit of trying to fight giant monsters that can eat us whole! Just look at Merry!"

Ms. Orange Hair let go of Straw Hat's cheeks as she spread her arms wide, gesturing from the broken crow's nest and to the damaged side of the ship where the Sea King had hit. And it was only now that she noticed the main deck had several pieces of plywood covering a long fissure; the spot where Straw Hat had hit when she had him under her control.

"So please,  _try_ not to be such a reckless idiot in the future! Can you imagine what would happen if we met another Sea King or something just as dangerous  _now_!?"

Straw Hat's cheeks slowly retracted back towards his face as he stood up, face now normal. The captain's expression became contemplative.

"If we met another Sea King now…then I guess…"

"You guess…"

Ms. Orange Hair's voice was low, dangerously so. Straw Hat stared at the sky for a moment. And then, the captain looked back at the navigator with a big, wide smile.

"We would just kick its ass. Heck, it might be even more fun a second time!"

Ms. Orange Hair stared, expression blank.

"Hey, do you think that maybe next time we kick a Sea King's ass, Sanji could cook-!?"

He did not finish as Ms. Orange Hair threw a punch towards his face. But really, that would not do much. Straw Hat was a rubber-man, so a punch would not exactly be effe-.

When Ms. Orange Hair's fist made contact with Straw Hat's face, it did not sink into his skin like she expected; Straw Hat did not bounce back the fist like she thought he would do. Instead, the fist slammed right into his face with a loud crack.

And then, Monkey D. Luffy, the man who had withstood a Sea King's tail slamming into his body, was sent flying by a skinny orange haired woman. The pirate with a thirty million Belly bounty crashed headfirst into the main mast due to being punched by one of his own crew members. A crew member who somehow given the stupidly strong captain a black eye in the process of punching him, even when his entire body was made of rubber.

She stared at the hole Straw Hat had made, and she saw Mr. Tengu do the same before he sighed and stood up. She then glanced at Ms. Orange Hair, who also let out a sigh; a very long, irritated sigh. And then to the princess who was shaking her head, exasperated.

"Idiot."

She did not turn around when Rorona spoke, but she could still see the annoyed expression he had on. Annoyed. Not all surprised by what he had seen.

She stared at Straw Hat, eye still half-lidded. Mr. Tengu was now trying to pull him out of the main mast by his legs, but the captain was firmly stuck in the wood. From below the deck, Mr. Dartboard Brow opened a hatch near the main mast and climbed up to the deck; he had gone to check on the damages or something along those lines. He turned his head towards Straw Hat, the captain's head still stuck in the mast as Mr. Tengu tried to pull him out.

He did not even blink as he let out a smoked filled breath and went back down below the deck.

She was not sure for how long, but for a while, she could not take her eyes off of Straw Hat. Her eyes were locked on the captain, her expression still emotionless.

And then she blinked.

Wait.

She blinked again.

_Wait._

She blinked several times.

Wait a damn minute, what just happened?

Ms. Orange Hair had somehow hurt  _the rubber-man._ With a punch. Somehow, the navigator seemed to have far more strength then she let on. Yesterday she had knocked Mr. Dartboard Brow and Roronoa to the floor, men who she had just seen fight off a Sea King, with apparent ease. Now, here she was injuring a person with a punch when that should not have been possible.

What…did she have… maybe she… well, maybe… just how?

She continued to stare at Straw Hat with her emotionless face. And she was sure she was the only one. The rest of the crew didn't even seem bothered by the fact that a crewmate had just struck their captain. It was one thing if crewmates fought each other, almost every pirate ship on the Grand line had infighting for various reasons, but she had never seen anyone punch their captain without even a second thought. And she had thought that the Straw Hats and princess at the very least respected, and perhaps even cared, somewhat about their captain; but now they didn't even seem to mind he had been hurt. Nor did they seem to mind about the obvious consequences that would soon follow. Straw Hat had shown that he wasn't as dumb as he appeared, and there was no doubt he wouldn't take such an act of mutiny with-.

When Mr. Tengu finally pulled Straw Hat free, Monkey D. Luffy's back hit the deck as he sprawled on the ground. Mr. Tengu looked at his captain with a tired expression.

"Luffy, I knew you had a death wish, but somehow, you still surprise me."

The captain's only response was to laugh.

"Shishishi!"

He was smiling. There was no anger in his voice or expression. He wasn't even remotely bothered by the fact that his own subordinate had just struck him. And with a black eye, he laughed like it was a big joke.

She blinked even more now. What the hell? Why would Straw Hat not be angered by something like this? Even if Straw Hat considered his crew friends, there were limits. He was their captain, and he had shown that he could be just as serious as anyone else with that title. So why was he fine with this?

Why was he treating mutiny like it was…normal?

She killed the confusion within her. She was a professional. Emotions wouldn't ever get the best of her. But still… Monkey D. Luffy was someone who she didn't understand. And that bothered her. A lot.

"Hey."

She had to resist the impulse to whirl her head to the side as she heard a voice speak only a few feet away. Instead, she slowly turned her head to the left and saw Ms. Orange Hair looking down at her. She hated having only one eye to see out of; it let people sneak up on her when they shouldn't be able to.

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair as the navigator's eyes looked her over.

"Can you walk? We need to go back to the room."

Ah. Right.

"I can walk."

Ms. Orange Hair once again looked her over

"You sure? I can...carry you if you want."

Hell no.

"I can walk."

Her empty eyes stared right into Ms. Orange Hair's own; the navigator then sighed.

"Alight. Then follow me."

"Slowly."

Ms. Orange Hair turned and her eyes narrowed at Roronoa when the swordsman spoke. And while she did not see his expression, she knew that it was the same as before. Vaguely bored and tired. But that did not mean he was not ready to slice her apart at a moment's notice.

"Understood."

Her reply was bland; she did not even bother turning towards Roronoa as she slowly stood up from the floor. She then walked until she was right next to Ms. Orange Hair.

"Stay behind me, alright?"

She nodded her head at Ms. Orange Hair words. And then, she followed the navigator along the quarterdeck. And once they reached the stairs, they slowly descended down each step.

And as she walked with Ms. Orange Hair, she turned to look at the princess. She saw Nefertari Vivi glancing at both her and Ms. Orange Hair. Not glaring at her, expression not even slightly angry, but instead just looking at the both of them with her black eyes.

And then, not even a second later, the princess turned around and moved towards Mr. Tengu and Straw Hat, who were looking at the hole in the mast. She saw the princess rubbing her left cheek where a small bruise had formed; where exactly she got that she did not know. She then heard the duck let out a soft quack before it followed after its master.

Huh. She expected the princess to perhaps threaten her again, or follow her and Ms. Orange Hair. It was slightly surprising that Nefertari did not do either of those things; and that Ms. Orange Hair did not seem to even question why the princess was not following them. Then again, it was not really that important to her. Not when she needed to think of a plan; and considering what she had done to the Sea King, the Straw Hats would get rid of any paint they had left on the ship.

But even without paint, she still had options. She just needed to figure out how to best use them.

"So…"

She looked up. Ms. Orange Hair had arrived first at the door to the canon deck as the navigator glanced down at her, expression somewhat hesitant.

"Thanks for the help."

Ms. Orange Hair opened the door and they both walked through it.

"You didn't have to, and I appreciate that."

She stared at the navigator with same empty expression as they continued to walk. "Didn't have to?" And what, just risk letting a Sea King kill the princess and destroying the only ship she had?

"And…sorry about Vivi dragging you out of bed."

Ms. Orange Hair let out a sigh as she looked away from her.

"It…I didn't think she would…"

Another sigh, this one sounding just a tad morose.

"Never mind."

She kept silent as she and Ms. Orange Hair arrived at the hatch that led back to the navigator's room. Ms. Orange Hair reached down and opened the hatch and then nodded her head towards her.

"After you."

She did not reply as she walked towards the hatch and then descended down the staircase to the cabin below. She heard Ms. Orange Hair close the hatch once she reached the bottom of the stairs. She then moved across the cabin until she reached the bed, slowly climbing onto the soft mattress before turning around so that she was facing Ms. Orange Hair as the navigator walked towards her. She wanted to just relax on the soft bed; her body was still in so much pain and she just wanted to rest and just forget about it with a nap. But she had to deal with Ms. Orange Hair first. And then plan.

Once Ms. Orange Hair was only a few feet away from the bed, the navigator picked up the stool from the floor and sat down on it. She then reached for the gray box that had been knocked to the floor and placed it on her lap.

"Okay…look-."

The navigator stated to cough again, cutting herself off. Ms. Orange Hair continued to let out several hoarse coughs for several moments until she eventually stopped herself, clearing her throat.

"Damn it, sorry. Don't know what's wrong with me today."

Ms. Orange Hair rubbed her throat as she looked down at her.

"But, anyway…"

Ms. Orange Hair once again became hesitant as she trailed off. The navigator's eyes once again looked her over as she stared at Ms. Orange Hair with unblinking eyes.

"Your gonna need to take off your clothes."

Immediately, Ms. Orange Hair's hands went up in a pacifying gesture.

"And, I know that is probably the last thing you want to do. This is pirate ship, we're pirates, so what sane person would think it's a good idea to take off their clothes here, right?"

Her only response was to stare at Ms. Orange Hair.

"But look, for one, your soaking wet. You need dry clothes, and I really don't think that wet bandages are gonna help you recover. That, and I can see you're bleeding again."

Well, Ms. Orange Hair was right about the bleeding. While she could not see it, she felt small bits of blood dripping down her back; and with her wet shirt it would be rather easy to see the red on her back.

She still gave no response to the navigator, expression still empty. Ms. Orange Hair paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. After a few moments, she continued.

"And two…we're not..."

Ms. Orange Hair seemed to struggle with her words. Ms. Orange Hair glanced away for a moment before the navigator's eyes returned to her.

"We're pirates…but we're not like… _pirates._ "

She took a moment to process those words. And once she did, she blinked.

"What?"

Ms. Orange Hair slapped a hand over her face.

"Damn it, that sounded so much better in my head."

Ms. Orange Hair took her hand away and looked at her, frown deepening.

"What I mean is, that we're pirates, but we're not like your average pirate crews. We don't pillage, we don't rape, and we aren't cruel to anyone so long as they don't piss us off."

Ms. Orange Hair lifted up one finger.

"We do steal though. A lot, if I have any say in it."

The navigator chuckled, lips curling upward. And she continued to stare at Ms. Orange Hair with a hollow eye.

Ms. Orange Hair frowned again.

"But, seriously, you don't have to be…that cautious around us. So long as you don't try anything, we aren't gonna hurt you."

What a blatant lie. "They weren't gonna hurt her?" Yeah, right. The only reason she was still alive was because she had something they wanted. She was confused as to why they were not torturing her right now, but that did not mean she honestly thought they were not going to.

She scanned Ms. Orange Hair's body as the navigator stared at her.

She would give the navigator this, she told that lie perfectly. She did not see a twitch or anything that might show the navigator was lying. Then again, even subpar actors could sometimes give great performances if the time called for it.

"And…also…."

Ms. Orange Hair once again stumbled with her words, the navigator's expression seemed almost uncomfortable.

"I know…what with what's on…"

Ms. Orange Hair didn't finish. And instantly, the navigator had her full attention. Because something was wrong.

"I doubt that well…considering…"

Once again, she trailed off.

And her eye narrowed; it wouldn't be noticeable to Ms. Orange Hair, it moved a fraction of an inch if that.

"Considering…what?"

She spoke those two words in an emotionless drawl. She reviewed every word Ms. Orange Hair had said. And it almost sounded like she was talking about-.

"Considering your back."

She stopped thinking.

Her expression remained emotionless as Ms. Orange Hair looked at her. And there was something in her eyes.

"I doubt you like showing  _anyone_ what's on there, least of all people who…injured you."

They…had seen her back already. But when-.

Oh.

Right. They had already stripped her before when they wrapped her in bandages. And she had been more focused on coming up with a plan today then grasping the implications that there were bandages on her back. She should've realized what that meant yesterday, should've drawn the conclusion right then and there; she'd already known she'd been stripped and she'd felt the bandages on her back. But she'd focused on other things at the time, and when she found out she'd lost her pendant-.

She realized that her hand was actually hovering over the spot where her medallion had been. Damn it. She quickly placed her hand back at her side as she thought back to everyone standing and talking in the room when she had first woken up after being knocked into the sea. She thought of everyone looking at her for who knows how long.

She imaged how they had all seen everything that was on her body when Ms. Orange Hair stripped her.

"So, look, I'm sorry that I saw that. Really, I am."

It was only now that she recognized the emotion in Ms. Orange Hair's eyes.

Pity.

"But…I just want to help you. Really, that's it. I won't look any longer than I have to, and I'll try and get it done as quickly as I can."

They had all seen her back. She had been preparing herself before, knew that it was inevitable…

But needless to say—no matter how hard she tried to stay emotionless—knowing that everyone on board had seen her back, knowing that this  _bitch_ had the gall to  _act_  like she felt sorry for her, which was worse than if she had been genuine, was  _absolutely enraging._

Her expression did not change. It was still empty. It stilled showed nothing. She hadn't even blinked. Even though the only thing she could feel right now was pure fury; and it rose and rushed throughout every inch of her body. Even though she was actively fighting to keep her expression emotionless and to  _not_  try and jump at Ms. Orange Hair and strangle her.

"So…please?"

She looked at Ms. Orange Hair with a half-lidded eye as she let out a deep, long sigh.

"Fine."

Ms. Orange Hair's expression wasn't relived; instead, it was still uncomfortable as she slowly crouched down, hands outstretched.

Yeah…she was definitely killing every damn person on this ship. And she'd make sure their deaths were as slow and painful as possible.

**_Report 003: Completed_ **


	4. Goldenweek's Report 004: Names

**_Goldenweek's Report 004: Names_ **

Miss Goldenweek continued to stare at the plate of food in front of her. The very,  _very_ good looking food in front of her; it took some effort, but she made sure her stomach didn't growl at the sight of it.

"Food's gonna get cold if you just keep staring at it."

She turned her head and looked up at Mr. Dartboard Brow, who was standing only a few feet away. Mr. Dartboard Brow's lips were in a firm line as he looked down at the plate of food and then back to her.

"It's good. Damn good, in fact."

She stared at Mr. Dartboard Brow with an emotionless black eye.

After Ms. Orange Hair had changed her bandages, the navigator had given her a new set of clothes. Her clothes; specifically, another blue t-shirt and maroon skirt. Which meant that these pirates had taken her bag and still had it somewhere on this ship. She had thought about where exactly they would store it before deciding that right now, that information was not important. There were other things that needed to her attention, like coming up with some way to get out of this mess.

Unfortunately, almost immediately after she had changed clothes and bandages, she had fallen asleep. Well, it was more like she had collapsed onto her bed. She'd just been so exhausted and the bed had felt so comfy that the moment Ms. Orange Hair had left to go do something, the navigator hadn't said what, she instantly laid down on the bed and began to snore; and God had that nap felt good.

Waking up, on the other hand, was not as good. The moment she opened her eye she felt an intense dizziness racking within her head as she struggled to get up. Her throat was dry and her lips were somewhat cracked, and just like yesterday, every part of her body was in pain. Except this time she also had to deal with one of the worst headaches she had ever gotten.

It had not taken her long to figure out why. For not even a second later, she felt her stomach shrinking in on itself, more pain rising within her as she brought a hand over her abdomen.

She was hungry. It had been about two days since she last ate or drank anything; and when she had looked down at her skin, she saw that she was paler than usual. She could tell she was suffering from excessive blood loss, remembering every time her wounds had been reopened or when new gashes and cuts appeared on her body.

And she knew that Roronoa—who had been watching from the exact same spot on the stairs—had seen just how much weaker she was the moment she woke up. Even if she tried to hide it, one look at her paler skin and anyone could see that she might actually be worse off than yesterday.

Which was fine. She was weaker, yes, but she could still move; something like not eating for two days and blood loss was not nearly enough to truly hinder her. And if the Straw Hats thought otherwise, then it would make taking them out so much easier.

And as she had thought of ways to slaughter these pirates, Roronoa got up and headed up the stairs. He had opened the hatch and ordered Mr. Tengu to watch her while he went to go talk to his other crewmates. And while Mr. Tengu had been scared of her as he shivered, she could see that there wasn't as much fear in his expression as there was yesterday; just like Roronoa, Mr. Tengu thought that she was less dangerous in her current condition.

She had stared at Mr. Tengu for at least an hour, staying silent as he started blabbering about random topics; what specifically, she could not remember, her mind had been hazy and she may or may not have fallen asleep while sitting up. She did remember him looking anxious about something—different from the fear that had been present in his expression throughout their "talk," almost like he was concerned—but it was probably just because of whatever was taking Roronoa so long to come back.

And when the hatched had opened again, Mr. Dartboard Brow walked down the steps and entered the room as he carried something with one hand; Roronoa was nowhere in sight.

But Straw Hat was. The captain had been only a few feet behind Mr. Dartboard Brow as he told Mr. Tengu he could leave the room. Mr. Tengu almost immediately exited the room the moment Straw Hat said that, only giving her a single glance just before he left through the hatch.

And after that, Mr. Dartboard Brow walked towards her bed, Straw Hat taking a seat on the last step of the stairs as the captain watched them. And it was only as Mr. Dartboard Brow walked that she noticed the delicious smell coming from the silver tray he carried.

And when Mr. Dartboard Brow had put down the tray on a nearby stool he pulled up next to her bed, she had to make sure not to swallow. Because the food somehow looked even more delicious than it smelled.

Mr. Dartboard Brow told her she could "dig in," but she had not responded. She had just stared at the meal in front of her, never even blinking once.

And she had done that for the last three minutes until just now when she looked up at Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"I'm not hungry."

It was hard to keep her expression empty, but she still managed, even with the pain and hunger. Her face showed nothing whatsoever as she continued to stare at Mr. Dartboard Brow with a half-lidded eye.

Mr. Dartboard Brow frowned, eyes narrowing.

"Again. I don't.  _Poison._  My damn cooking."

There was anger in his voice as he stared at her.

"I'm a chef. It's my job to feed the hungry no matter who they are and never mess with their food."

His expression was still firm as he glanced away from her and to his captain.

"Even if they're idiots who don't deserve it, I'll always make food that's the best I can offer."

She glanced at Straw Hat and saw that the captain wasn't bothered in the slightest that his subordinate just called him an idiot. Monkey D. Luffy only stared at her with a blank expression.

"So eat. I didn't do anything to it."

Mr. Dartboard Brow's expression softened somewhat as he stared at her.

And she stared back with a hollow black eye. She did not say a word as the silence in the room grew. Mr. Dartboard Brow continued to stare at her emotionless expression with his one visible eye for several minutes.

And then he sighed, slowly crouching down until he was only slightly above her height.

"Look, I can tell you're a smart kid."

She was about the furthest thing from a child imaginable. The fact that Mr. Dartboard Brow still thought otherwise told her just how much he underestimated her.

She kept silent as Mr. Dartboard Brow continued.

"If I was going to poison you, why would I bother with all the theatrics? Can you think of a reason why?"

Off the top of her head, fifteen. Each one more sadistic than the last.

"And I know you're hungry. Your stomach ain't growling, but I know you haven't eaten or drank anything in a while. I don't think I have to tell you that you're just gonna mess up your body if you keep refusing to eat anything."

Mr. Dartboard Brow looked her over.

"More so than it already is."

Her only response was to keep staring. Mr. Dartboard Brow frowned again.

"I'm not gonna blame you for not trusting me, you'd kind of have to be an idiot too, all things considered. What I am asking you to do is to trust the food. Trust that if you eat it, it'll help you recover; and if you don't eat it, you'll just keep feeling like crap. And  _that_ is something you know is a fact."

Yeah, she would trust the meal a pirate for her. A meal that looked so good, it put to shame some of the foods she had seen from the fancier hotels she and Mr. 3 had stayed at to shame. She would trust a plate of food that looked delicious when the man who made it had absolutely no reason whatsoever to make it tasty.

What wasn't there to trust?

"So, you can continue to not trust us or even hate us if you want to…"

Mr. Dartboard Brow nudged his head towards the plate of food as he reached into his pocket.

"Just do it with a full stomach."

He pulled out a single cigarette and a box of matches—not his lighter for some reason; Mr. Dartboard Brow stared at her as he took out a match and then lit it with a single strike against the back of the box.

And he was right about one thing. If she did not eat, she would only get worse. She needed food, her headache was only getting worse and the pangs in her stomach would not stop growing. If she did not eat, she would not have anywhere near the stamina she needed to take down the pirates when she eventually came up with a plan.

She continued to stare at Mr. Dartboard Brow with her half-lidded eye as he placed the cigarette in his mouth and then lit it with the match; he then blew out a breath from the side of his mouth and extinguished the match, dropping it to the floor. After a few moments, she looked away from Mr. Dartboard Brow and towards the plate in front of her, slowly moving around in her bed until she was sitting on the edge before reaching for the fork with her good hand.

So, she had to eat the food this pirate made. The food that was filled with poison.

Once she picked up a fork, her eye scanned the food. It looked like some kind of salmon, different kinds of dice fruits were on top of the skin mixed with some kind of red sauce. The salmon had been cut into small pieces—each one neatly lined up next to the other—so she did not have to use a knife. Not that she could, considering they had "forgotten" to give her one.

She was thankful that Mr. 3 had been such an overly-cautious person that he had her build up a resistance to poisons. But still, that was all she had, a resistance. Not an immunity.

She stabbed into one of the pieces of fish with her fork.

Try not to vomit; otherwise, what would be the point of this? Remember what Mr. 3 told you. Do not try and fight it and just let the poison run its course.

She brought the fork up to her mouth, the fish now firmly lodged into the tip.

She let out a sigh, and prepared herself.

Just get it over with.

She bit down on the fish.

And her one eye widened.

The fish wasn't poisoned. When she had started to train against poisons, Mr. 3 had used a variety of deadly toxins to help her build a resistance. Some tasteless and some so strong that she could taste them days after. Some that left her with a horrible burning in her stomach and others that made her vomit for an hour straight. And as she developed a higher tolerance for poison, she began to notice something every time she ingested any kind of poison.

She would always feel some kind of sensation whenever she ingested poison. Sometimes it would come from the back of her throat, other times from the bottom of her stomach. But no matter where the sensation came from, it would always tell her the same thing. Her body would always tell her that there was something  _wrong_ with it the moment any kind of poison entered her. But there was no trace of that sensation, of any wrongness, right now.

Because right now, everything suddenly felt  _amazing._

The moment the fish touched her touched her tongue, the flavor felt just like…an explosion? No, that wasn't it. It was more like…a punch? No, that wasn't it either. The taste running through every inch of her mouth was just like…like…

She didn't know—describing taste wasn't one of her strong suits. All she did know was that this fish was the best damn thing she had ever put in her mouth.

She stabbed another piece of fish and instantly brought the salmon up to her mouth and chomped into it, her teeth biting down on the fork by accident, but she didn't care.

Because holy shit this fish was amazing.

"So, how is it?"

She looked up and saw Mr. Dartboard Brow grinning at her, letting out a smoke-filled breath as he stared. And going by the knowing gleam in Mr. Dartboard Brows eyes, he already knew her response.

For several seconds, she stared at Mr. Dartboard Brow as she continued to chew; and through the bites of salmon, she spoke.

"It's good."

There would be no point in trying to lie. There was no way Mr. Dartboard Brow had missed her eye widening, and the fact that she had quickly begun to eat another piece without any hesitation already told the pirate her answer.

He just wanted the satisfaction of hearing her say it out loud; and seeing there was no point in lying, she would give it to him.

Mr. Dartboard Brow's grin grew, cigarette now resting between his teeth. The cook then let out a small puff of smoke before he spoke.

"Glad to hear it, little lady."

She stabbed into another piece of fish and once again chomped at it, her empty eye glancing away from Mr. Dartboard Brow towards Straw Hat. The captain was still staring at her with an emotionless expression as he sat on the stairs.

It seemed like the Straw Hats were taking turns guarding her. Yesterday, it had been Princess Nefertari and Ms. Orange Hair, and now, it was Mr. Dartboard Brow and Monkey D. Luffy. And both times after she woke up, Roronoa was always the first person she saw and Mr. Tengu would be just above the room waiting. It seemed like Roronoa would be the one to watch her while she slept, which made sense considering he was the only one that could break out of her Colors Trap; who better to watch her than a person who had figured out how to overcome her main method of attack?

But there were other ways she could take out Roronoa.

Another stab and she bit down even harder on the fish.

She was not sure if Mr. Tengu would always be the one waiting above the room. The Straw Hats knew he was weak and a coward, the insults Ms. Orange Hair said to him yesterday confirmed that, so if they were smart, they would give him as little guard shifts as possible. Just in case she ever managed to escape out of this room.

She only now noticed as she swallowed another piece of salmon a fruity aftertaste to the fish; it was nice.

But regardless as to who would be guarding her, she still needed to figure out how she could kill these pirates in the first place. Right now, she had nothing; so, her first step would have to be gathering materials. Preferably either paint or perhaps something sharp or even-.

She swallowed too quickly. She had not finished chewing the fish, so when she swallowed, it became lodged in the back of her throat. Her one eye went wide, breathing becoming difficult as she started to cough, trying to get the food out of her windpipe. And it was working, with every cough she felt the piece of fish wiggle until the salmon-.

Without her even noticing, Mr. Dartboard Brow had moved. The pirate was now sitting on her bed towards her left side.

And he had placed his hand on her back.

Her body became rigid; and while she wasn't choking anymore, for a second she didn't breathe.

"Hey, you okay?"

Her expression was still emotionless as she stared at Mr. Dartboard Brow; she saw there was concern within his eyes.

And he was now rubbing her back with his hand.

"You shouldn't eat so fast, you'll choke."

She continued to stare at Mr. Dartboard Brow as she felt the cook's fingers through her shirt. As she felt every circular motion his hand went through as he continued to rub her.

"You gotta be careful."

Her grip on her fork had tightened to the point where it started to shake slightly.

At this distance, if she tried to stab Mr. Dartboard Brow's eye, she wouldn't miss.

She didn't say anything.

With a thrust and quick twist, she could completely stab right through his retina and then remove his eyeball in a second.

Her mouth was in a thin line; her expression completely blank and eye half-lidded.

All it would take is one quick jab with her fork and she could make this God damn bastard get off-!

No.

Not. Yet.

This man is fast. He fought a Sea King. He can react to your movements without any issue. And Straw Hat is right there. Do not do anything foolish.

Her fork stopped shaking.

Focus on your mission. Focus on the opportunity in front of you.

She glanced down. And she saw that Mr. Dartboards Brow's right pocket was now facing her, only a few feet away from her broken arm.

The pocket where she could see the pirate's open box of matches just slightly peer over the edge.

Kill your rage and focus.

Mr. Dartboard Brow was still staring at her

And with an empty expression—the pirate's hand still on her back—she spoke.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

Her voice was in her usual emotionless drawl. And she knew that from where Straw Hat was sitting on the stairs, the captain would not be able to see what she was about to do.

As subtly as she could, she raised her broken arm from her bed.

She turned her head towards the plate of fish.

"I just could not stop myself, your cooking is excellent."

She turned back towards Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"What exactly is it?"

Stroke his ego and get him talking.

Her broken hand was slowly moving through the air as Mr. Dartboard Brow grinned.

"It's moderately fresh salmon with a hazelnut crust and fruit salsa. Perfect food to eat after excessive bleeding. The fruits I used are high in Vitamin C which help your body absorb more iron and-."

She was barely listening, her eye never looking away from Mr. Dartboard Brow. She continued to move her hand towards his pocket, and from the corner of her eye, she could see that she was now only inches away from the box of matches.

"-And it's always nice to hear people actually complimenting my cooking."

"Hey, that's not fair, Sanji!"

Straw Hat's indignant shout made her stop, hand quickly hitting the bed as Mr. Dartboard Brow's grin turned into a frown.

"Huh?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow let out another smoke-filled breath as he turned to look at his Captain, and she did the same.

Straw Hat was staring at the both of them with a pout.

Yes.

An honest to God pout; lips pushed together so much it was like he was kissing the air. In that moment, Straw Hat looked like child.

She blinked.

What in the hell was she-?

"What are you talking about now, Luffy?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow's had on an annoyed expression as it looked like he rolled his eyes; it was rather hard to see since he shifted so that she could only make out the right side of his face.

"I always say how good your cooking is, but you're acting like I never do!"

With that shout, Monkey D Luffy thrust both of his arms up into the air as he frowned.

"That's kinda mean."

She blinked again. She remembered how Straw Hat whined to Mr. Tengu about the coward not believing him about the "shadowy-thing." How excited he had gotten when he talked about the prospect of fighting another Sea King. He was being just as childish now as he was then.

Was this…was this just a  _thing_ the captain did? Spontaneously acting like a child at random when talking with his crew? She'd seen plenty of quirks from so many different people on her time on the Grand Line, but this was-.

She heard Mr. Dartboard Brow let out a sigh as he took out the cigarette in his mouth with his other hand. He then pointed the cigarette at his captain with a frown.

"Well, maybe I would appreciate your 'compliments' if they weren't just you shouting 'wow, this is great!' over and over again."

Straw Hat's frown got even deeper.

"What's wrong with saying that? It's true, your food's great! Really great!"

"The problem is that is literally the only thing you ever say! The first few times I was fine with, but after you keep saying the same thing about my cooking over and over again, the 'compliment' gets kinda stale, Luffy."

Mr. Dartboard had raised his voice; the pirate was not quite shouting, but he was rather close to doing so. Mr. Dartboard Brow's eyes were now firmly locked on his captain, and Straw Hat's focus was now entirely on his cook.

At the very least, the two pirates arguing was an excellent distraction. She once again raised her arm and slowly moved it towards Mr. Dartboard Brows pocket; but she made sure to still stare at Mr. Dartboard Brow just in case he began to notice what she was doing.

"Wait, what about Nami and Vivi? They say the same thing I do and you get all happy every time!"

Straw Hat's voice was now whiney. She did not even have to face the captain to see the sullen expression he had on.

"First of all, they don't shout at the top of their lungs when they compliment my cuisine. And second, they use better vocabulary-."

"Better what?"

"Better  _words_ than you do when they show their love for my cooking."

The irritation in Mr. Dartboard Brow's words grew, lips beginning to move into a slight scowl.

Her fingers were now grabbing the edges of his open matchbox; it was rather hard considering they were in a cast, but thankfully, she managed.

"Seriously, Luffy, can you ever say anything about my food other than 'wow, this is great!' even once?"

"Of course I can!"

"Really? Then tell me, without using the words 'wow' or 'this' or 'great,' how would you describe this morning's breakfast."

She pulled slightly on the box and it started to slip out of its cover, more of the matches coming into view.

"Okay! Your food was amazing!"

Mr. Dartboard let out a large—and almost painful—groan.

"What?"

"You're a God damn idiot, Luffy."

Once again, no reaction to being called an idiot by his underling. But, she pushed those thoughts away for now as she slowly, and with some difficulty, picked up a single match with her pointer and thumb. Then, with her pointer she slid the match underneath the bandages surrounding her thumb; Ms. Orange Hair had not properly put on the bandages there, so there was a bit of gap in the layers of white gauze. She then repeated the same process with two more matches.

"Besides, there's another reason why my dear princess and our lovely navigator's words about my cooking mean so much to me."

"Is it cause they're girls?"

"It is because they are  _ladies!_ "

Mr. Dartboard shouted those words so loudly they echoed throughout the room. And just as she was about to go for a fourth match, Mr. Dartboard Brow's head whirled towards her. Before he finished his turn, she quickly flicked the box of matches with her finger and it fell back into the cook's pocket, hand quickly hitting the bed.

Mr. Dartboard Brow was now staring at her with narrowed eyes.

And she suddenly fought to keep her expression blank, making sure not to tense. Crap…did he see-?

"Just to be clear, when I say ladies, I mean women who are around my age. Because despite what that idiot swordsman said, I am not a damn pedophile!"

…Never mind, she was fine. There was no suspicion in Mr. Dartboard Brows expression. No signs that he thought she might have been up to something.

There was only outrage in his voice. The only thing she could hear in his words was anger as Mr. Dartboard Brow suddenly jumped from her bed.

And his hand was no longer on her back. There was now nothing there, and she could relax now.

Her expression was emotionless as she stared at Mr. Dartboard Brow.

God damn bastard couldn't have done that sooner? He just had to touch her back for however-?

Focus.

The anger within her quickly died. She watched as Mr. Dartboard Brow slowly walked towards his captain; the cook then let out another puff of smoke, growling slightly.

"Damn Marimo, saying shit like that. One day, I swear to God I'll kick him to the end of the Grand Line."

Once Mr. Dartboard Brow reached the steps, he dropped the cigarette in his mouth to the floor before he stepped on it. He then took out another cigarette from his left pocket and placed it in his mouth before reaching for the box of matches in his right.

But when he pulled out the matchbox, most of the matches within it spilled to the floor the moment it left his pocket.

"Oh, come on."

There was now a pile of matches scattered along the floor. But just as Mr. Dartboard Brow started to crouch down to pick them up, Straw Hat stretched his arm. His elongated limb went towards every single match on the floor, picking them up with his hand in a matter of seconds. His arm then retracted back to his body with a loud snap as he held out a fist full of matches to Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"Got 'em."

Mr. Dartboard Brow stared at the matches for a moment.

"All of them?"

While it was a simple question, she heard the message underneath.

Are you positive that aren't any matches left our prisoner can get?

While he still faced Straw Hat, she knew that Mr. Dartboard Brow wanted to turn around and face her, but he resisted so she would not see his worry. She supposed Mr. Dartboard Brow was at the very least somewhat careful.

"Yep."

With that one word from Straw Hat, Mr. Dartbaord Brow let out a small sigh; he then reached for the matches with one hand, grabbed them, and placed them all back into his matchbox as he stood to full height.

"Thanks. Seriously, Usopp better get the water out of my lighter fast. I hate using matches."

Oh, right. The Sea King and the tidal wave. Mr. Dartboard Brow's lighter must have been damaged then. And because of that, he was forced to use matches.

How lucky for her.

"You don't like matches?"

Straw Hat tilted his head to one side as he spoke.

"Not these ones. Some of these shit sticks don't even light no matter how hard I hit the damn striker."

Mr. Dartboard Brow let out another sigh, this one far more irritated then his last one, as he muttered something under his breath; he then turned around to face her.

"Hey, eat up. The food's only gonna get colder."

Ah right. Food.

She looked down at the plate of fish and picked up her fork. Without wasting a second she chomped down on another amazing piece of salmon; though, this time she did chew slower. She would give Mr. Dartboard Brow this, he was a damn good cook.

But, if he and the rest of the Straw Hats thought that a trick like this would work on her, then they were underestimating her to the extreme. The only thing she still didn't understand is why they hadn't started torturing her for information yet. The princess should've told them that these kinds of tricks would not work on someone who was partnered with Mr. 3, so why were they still using them?

It could just be because they were idiots, but there was something else. Something that she wasn't seeing; a voice, born from her years as an assassin, told her that the situation she was in was strange and-.

"Hey, Sanji…"

Just as she was sipping from the glass of water, Straw Hat spoke, staring at Mr. Dartboard Brow with unblinking black eyes.

"Could you go check on Nami?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow blinked, and Straw Hat continued as he tilted his head to the side.

"She's was acting kinda weird this morning."

"Huh? Weird how?"

"Like, when she punched me, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it usually does."

Wait. Ms. Orange Hair hit Straw Hat  _again?_  She hurt the  _rubber-man_ with another punch? And apparently Straw Hat had been  _hurt_ enough times by Ms. Orange Hair's punches to know when they weren't at her usual strength?

She killed the confusion within her as quickly as it came. But that did not stop her from narrowing her eye at the seriously weird pirate captain. Once again, Straw Hat was acting like it was a perfectly acceptable thing for his subordinate to hurt him, the person who was supposed to make sure that anyone who tried anything like what Ms. Orange Hair was  _constantly_  doing be met with a swift end.

What was wrong with Monkey D. Luffy? This was the Grand Line, where even the tiniest overlooked detail could mean death for everyone on board. Yet, for some reason, he didn't punish his subordinate for committing mutiny, one of the biggest crimes on any ship, pirate or Marine; he was perfectly fine with having a crew mate that could very well be the end of him.

Why? He cared for his crew, but there was a difference between friendship and pure stupidity. She'd seen Straw Hat's more serious side, so why would he be fine with having someone that actively showed him disrespect and even hit him? Why was he okay whenever any of his subordinates insulted him? Why was he okay when they showed no concern or any reaction whatsoever whenever he was injured enough to draw blood?

What in the hell was Straw Hat think-?

"-I'll go check on our beautiful Nami, but are you're sure you can handle watching her alone?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow's words brought her out of her thoughts. She watched as the cook raised a brow at Straw Hat.

"And to be clear, watching her would mean you'd have to stay in the same spot for more than five seconds."

Mr. Dartboard Brow was now talking to Straw Hat like he was a child, but the captain showed absolutely no signs of being insulted. Instead, Straw Hat simply nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be fine."

Mr. Dartboard Brow continued to stare at Straw Hat for a few more seconds. And then, Mr. Dartboard Brow shrugged before he walked around Straw Hat and climbed up the stairs.

"If you're sure, captain."

Once he was about halfway up the steps, Mr. Dartboard Brow grinned. An extremely giddy, far too wide grin that showed off his teeth.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm off to go make sure my dear navigator that her handsome cook is there for her if she needs him!"

She had no idea if Mr. Dartboard Brow was shouting to her, his captain, or himself. But the moment he finished speaking, he had run up the stairs in an instant, opened the hatch, and had left the room as he slammed the hatch shut behind him.

Leaving her alone with the strange captain of the Straw Hats.

She stared at Monkey. D. Luffy with a hollow black eye, stabbing into another piece of fish as Straw Hat stared back.

What would this pirate do now?

For several moments, she continued to stare at Straw Hat with an unblinking eye.

What was the reason he had sent Mr. Dartboard Brow away? Straw Hat had been honest about his navigator's condition—because there were about a hundred different lies he could have told, and each one would have been more believable than saying he thought there was something wrong with his navigator because her punches were not as strong as usual. But she knew that was not the real reason he told the cook to leave them.

Straw Hat also had yet to blink.

Could the captain want to finally begin the interrogation by himself? Or did he just want to have "fun" with his prisoner? Or was he just going to say nothing and let her mind come up with horrible scenarios as to what-.

"You're pretty good at this?"

Wait, what?

Her expression was empty and she still hadn't blinked as Straw Hat suddenly spoke; the captain's expression blank and eyes equally unblinking. Good at what? What did he-?

No, focus. He was just playing games with her, and she would not let this pirate win.

Her emotionless eye continued to stare into Straw Hat's small, black irises. A minute passed and neither she nor Straw Hat had blinked. Another minute passed as she finished the rest of her fish. And then another.

She felt her right eye twitch slightly. And it began to twitch even more as another minute passed.

Don't. Don't bli-.

When another minute passed, she could not keep her eye open any longer and she blinked.

Damn it.

Her eye continued to blink again and again she rubbed it with her right hand. Straw Hat had just gained a small victory over her. The captain's intent of showing her that he could match her empty gaze with ease was achieved and now-.

"Wow. I don't think I've had a good staring contest like that in a while."

…What?

She stopped rubbing her eye as Straw Hat's cheerful voice reached her ears. Cheerful. Not smug or arrogant, but happy. Like he was…having fun.

She opened her eye and saw that Straw Hat was giving her a small grin. A grin that had no mocking glint to it or even a trace of cruelty.

It was just a grin that showed Straw Hat was enjoying his time with her.

She blinked again.

What the hell?

"Most of my crew really kinda stink at staring contests."

…Wait, was he…did he actually-?

"Usopp always blinks in like the first five seconds, Nami sometimes cheats and flicks me in the eye when she's about to blink-."

Did he honestly think that she'd been playing a children's game with him? That she  _wanted_ to play a children's game with him?

"Sanji cheats too, he always blinks with the eye that his hair is covering, and Vivi I haven't really done it with yet, so I don't know how good she is."

Did he…did he really play children's games with  _all_ of his crew?

"Zoro can go a really long time without blinking, but I think you're kinda better than him. But it's been a while since we sat down and had a match, so he's probably gotten better."

Straw Hat looked at the ceiling, expression becoming contemplative as he rubbed a finger under his chin.

"If I had to guess…I say you're currently second place."

Straw Hat looked back at her, and with his lips in a thin line, he gave her a thumbs-up.

A. Thumbs-up.

"Congrats."

What the hell is wrong with you?

She blinked at the idiot in front of her. She killed the confusion within her in an instant and her expression was still blank. Her eye still showed nothing as she continued to stare at Straw Hat.

She had started to think that maybe Straw Hat's idiocy was a persona, an act he put on even in front of his crew for whatever reason and allowed them to get away with their disrespect while he plotted… _something._ So far, that had been the only explanation she could think of. But no, that wasn't it. The stupidity she was witnessing couldn't be an act. No one on the planet could  _act_ this stupid. Besides, there would be no point in acting this dumb to his own prisoner.

And now, she was currently wondering what kind of brain trauma he had received in the past. Because really, that was honestly the only explanation she could come up with right now that would explain what she was seeing. What else could explain how someone who was perfectly okay with torturing another person can also act like a little child and even want to play  _games_ with the exact same person he had almost tortured?

Well, he could just be crazy; that did seem to fit him and most of his crew. Though, for Straw Hat, maybe he was a different type of crazy than what she was used to seeing. A… _stupid_ kind of crazy.

"Oh, before I forget, thanks again."

What?

Straw Hat's lips were once again in a grin—though, this one was smaller than his last.

"I mean for the help with the Sea King. Me and Zoro and Sanji would've beat it anyway, but it probably would've taken longer; and Merry might've gotten more hurt if it did."

She did not respond. Her face was empty as she stared at Straw Hat with her half-lidded eye.

"Those color thingies of yours are actually pretty neat. I didn't know they worked on animals too."

Colors Trap.

She still said nothing, but Straw continued as his face scrunched up with confusion.

"Hey, how do those things work?"

Ah. Finally, something she was used to.

She remained silent as Straw Hat scratched the tip of his hat with one hand.

"Vivi said it was some kind of mystery power-."

Something told her those were not the princess' words.

"-but she really didn't know much about how your color whatsits work."

Colors Trap.

Straw Hat's unblinking eyes stared right into her hollow iris.

"They look pretty cool. Can you explain them to me?"

Where she anyone else, she might have been tempted to snort. But she didn't; the only thing she did was continued to stare at Straw Hat with her blank expression.

If he thought she would talk about anything, least of all her own abilities, with such subpar interrogation tactics, he had another thing coming. Giving her amazing food, trying once again to seem casual all to get her to let her guard were tactics even a child could see through. The fact that Straw Hat was trying the same things again told her just how much of an idiot the captain could be.

But Straw Hat's methods also confused her. Straw Hat should know that these kinds of tricks would not work on her, even if he was an idiot or just crazy. She'd seen that the captain could be serious—and not act like a childish moron—so he should have had enough intelligence to realize that these kinds of tactics would never work. And the princess should've been telling him and the rest of his crew the same thing.

So why-?

"Huh, you're even quieter than Zoro."

Straw Hat was tilting his head even further now.

"Zoro would at least grunt or something to tell me to shut up, but you're not even making a sound. Are your Circle Slaps that hard to explain?"

Colors Trap. How did you even-?

Stop it. Just focus. Figure out what how this man thinks.

She stared at Straw Hat for a moment; and then, she spoke.

"I can safely say that an idiot like you won't be able to understand how my powers work."

Straw Hat did not respond, only silence followed her words.

The captain was fine with his crew showing him disrespect, but from a prisoner on his own ship, that would not possibly be tolerated. And by figuring out what made him angry—besides threats and enemies to his crew—she could at the very least  _start_ to figure out how Monkey D. Luffy's mind works. She could figure out what made him who he was, what other weaknesses he had, and from there work out plans on how to take him down. She just had to make sure her theories were true.

_If you have the time, learn as much as you can about your enemy, that way you can verify whatever weaknesses you think they might have. And then, their downfall shall be that much quicker…which means you can go back to your picnics even faster._

As she heard Mr. 3's voice, she made sure her body did not visibly tense as she waited. She prepared herself for anything the captain might try; she prepared for him to launch a rubbery fist right at her face. For him to get up and beat her to an even bloodier pulp than what Roronoa did.

She did not prepare for Straw Hat to start lightly chuckling.

"Shishishi. Yeah, I figured as much."

She blinked. And then, she blinked again.

…Seriously, what was wrong with Straw Hat? He was a damn captain, he should not be okay with his own prisoner calling him an idiot. He didn't even have to get as angry as she had imagined, just mildly irritated would have been a perfectly fine reaction; a bit unusual, but nothing she hadn't seen before.

But no. This… _dumbass_ seemed to think it was okay for anyone to insult him. This went beyond whatever stupidity drove Straw Hat to keep mutinous crew members on board or made him want to play games with his own prisoner. There was something wrong with Straw Hat, of that she was certain. Something that made him so dumb that he had actually fallen asleep when she used Tranquil Green on him. But then, how could someone like him possibly be the same person who was okay with watching another person getting tortured? Was he affected by some kind of insanity that made him flip from being stupid to being a serious captain fit for the Grand Line? Did his mind just not function like any other human being she had seen, even those who weren't sane? Was he-.

Stop. Just...just stop.

She let out a small sigh as Straw Hat continued to stare at her.

This wasn't worth the effort. She couldn't figure out how Straw Hat's mind worked; not now, anyway. She was missing key pieces of information as to how this insane idiot thought. For now, she shouldn't waste any more energy in trying to figure out Straw Hat's mind.

Seriously, this pirate was just so… _weird._

"You okay?"

What?

"You look kinda…angry."

She froze.

"But, not really angry, just…sorta angry."

Her expression was emotionless—she knew that for a damn fact—as an eye that held nothing stared at Straw Hat.

No way. There was absolutely no way this idiot could  _read her._ She was an emotionless assassin, her face never gave away any signs as to what she was feeling or thinking. Every part of her features showed nothing but the same emptiness that rested inside her.

There was no way that some pirate could actually tell what she was thinking. She hadn't put any emotion into her sigh from before, and even though she was shocked and frozen to the bed, to Straw Hat she should just look the same. So then, how did he know? What the hell gave away her emotions? What did she do that-?

"I think."

She blinked again at Straw Hat's words. She saw the captain once again scratching the tip of his hat.

"I'm not really good at telling what someone's thinking. At least, that's what Nami and Usopp and Sanji and…everyone, always says. So, am I right? Am I wrong?"

Straw Hat stared at her with his lips in a thin line.

He didn't know; Straw Hat would have no reason to pretend that he didn't know, not when he could have kept his skills in reading expressions a secret in the first place without ever telling her. He had just been…guessing. She hadn't shown what she had actually been feeling, and this idiot had just taken a lucky guess.

There was no way he could actually tell how-.

"Eh, I guess I was wrong. And I guess I was wrong before too."

Wait, before?

Straw Hat shrugged his shoulders before he grabbed his chin with two fingers, becoming lost in whatever weird thoughts were going through his head.

Before what? What was he talking-?

"You know, I thought that your hair was kinda weird before."

What? Where did that come from? Why was he even talking about-?

"That three-guy's hair was weird, so I guess it kinda makes sense that your hair was weird too."

In what possible way was her hair anywhere near as weird as her partner's?

"I mean, those…tail thingies-."

Pigtails. There is no way you don't know their called-.

"-they kinda looked like red bananas."

…What?

She quickly scanned Straw Hat's expression, and did not see a hint of a lie anywhere. Only—what seemed to be—genuine honesty. Genuine,  _stupid,_ honesty.

"Yeah. Really red bananas. When I first saw you, I really thought you just glued bananas to your head."

Where in the hell-? How do you even-? In what world did her hair-?

"Those pearl thingies you had in them didn't help either. I thought those were the tips."

How on-why in the-how stupid-what in the hell was she-?

"I thought after I kicked the three-guy's ass I could rip off a piece of your hair and eat it for a snack."

Are you kidding me!?

Her right eye actually began to twitch. Not from pain, but from irritation. Because of Straw Hat's  _absolutely ridiculous_ levels of stupidity, she was  _emoting._

"But now that I know that's your hair and not fruit, I won't try to eat it."

Straw Hat nodded his head with a solemn expression.

"Because hair tastes like shit and isn't at all-."

"What are you doing?"

She had had enough of this bullshit.

"Huh?"

Straw Hat was confused—the idiot had the gall to be  _confused—_ as he blinked.

"What do you mean? I'm just talking with you."

No, you were rambling off random topics while she was forced to listen.

"I mean…"

Her voice became cold. Those two word's that left her mouth were just as hollow as her face.

"Why haven't you started torturing me for any information about Baroque Works?"

This had been going on for far too long. She would prefer  _torture_ than whatever the hell Straw Hat was doing. He was a crazy idiot, but there was no way he didn't know how he should proceed now that he had a prime source of information right in front of him. Every tactic he and his crew had used to try and get her guard down and get her to talk about Baroque Works willingly were things the captain  _knew_ were useless. No idiot or madman wouldn't be able to see that.

So, she didn't want to delay the inevitable anymore; not when all their actions she had seen them do so far were either confusing or irritating.

Straw Hat was not bothered at all but the chill in her voice. The captain continued to stare at her hollow eye with his own unblinking black irises.

And then…he blinked. And then he blinked again. And then he tiled his head as far as he could to one side as he stared at her. The expression on his face was the same one he had looked at Mr. Tengu with.

It was the same expression that screamed, "Are you an idiot."

"Are you dumb?"

Silence. That was the only response to Straw Hat's three words. She stared at him with her emotionless expression as those words repeated themselves in her mind.

…The third.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would be the third to die. Right after Mr. Dartboard Brow and Roronoa. Because she had honestly never been more insulted in her entire life.

"…Care to repeat that?"

"Are you dumb."

No hesitation, not seemingly able to pick up on how her voice had become even more frigid than before, Straw Hat spoke the same three words right to her face as even more confusion rose within his expression; like he honestly thought she might be an idiot. And wasn't it just  _adorable_ how the  _dumbass_ thought he had the right to call anyone  _dumb?_

It took everything she had to keep her right eye from twitching.

Yeah, the third. Maybe second after Roronoa.

"I mean, don't you remember what you said before?"

What?

She stared at Straw Hat as the captain slowly stood up.

"'No.' That's what you said, right? When I asked you if you were gonna talk about Baroque Works, that was your response."

There was…something different about Straw Hat now. Something in his stance and the way he looked down at her. The captain's expression was devoid of any emotion, almost as empty as her own, and his black eyes now gleamed. With what, she couldn't tell—and that bothered her, she should've known what was in Straw Hat's eyes—but right now, as the captain stood his full height and tilted his head in a deceptively casual manner, she was seeing it.

She was seeing the man who had defeated her partner. The man who had become one of her boss's biggest threats to his plan.

The unfeeling pirate who had been perfectly fine with torturing his enemies was now staring at her with narrowed eyes that would put some of the hardest glares she had seen to shame.

"Are you telling me your answer's changed?"

She did not blink as she matched Straw Hat's empty gaze with ease. And she did more than just stare into Straw Hat's eyes, she told the captain exactly what she thought of him. The message in her eyes could not have been clearer.

You're not nearly as scary as I am, pirate.

They both continued to stare. As the ship rocked from waves, they both stared into each other's eyes—eye, in her case—for several minutes. The captain's black irises showed no emotion whatsoever, but she would not back away from Straw Hat's gaze. Straw Hat might have frightened others with his cold eyes, but not her.

She had seen far worse than this.

"I see. It hasn't changed."

In an instant, Straw Hat sat back down as his expression changed. The deadly look in his eyes was gone as the same confusion as before took its place. The captain placed a hand under his chin as he stared at her.

And she blinked. Because how could someone go through such a drastic change just like that? Was it because of Straw Hat's insanity or-?

"But if your answers still the same, how come you're asking questions?"

She did not respond, and Straw Hat's face began to scrunch up as he furrowed his brows.

"You're not gonna talk about that croc-guy's plans, so what would be the point of asking you questions or hurting you to try and get you to talk about them?"

Just how stupid did Straw Hat think she was?

Her expression remained emotionless as she quickly scanned Straw Hat's face; the captain matched her stare with his unblinking eyes.

Really? They weren't going to try and pry any information from her when they so clearly needed it? They were going to let her stay on their ship just because they were kind, charitable, pirates?

If she could feel, she might have laughed at that absurd thought. She was their enemy, and everyone here knew that. The fact that Straw Hat was trying the exact same tactic Ms. Orange Hair used yesterday told her how much he and the rest of his crew viewed her as just some pathetic little girl that could easily be tricked by their lies. As someone weak and pitiful and who wasn't even remotely a threat to them.

But…that didn't make sense. Princess Nefertari had told them how dangerous she was, so why were they treating her like this? Why were they bothering with tricks that they knew will never work? What exactly was the point of it all?

What exactly were these pirates plotting?

She continued to stare at Straw Hat. He was easily one of the best liars she had ever seen; his expression only ever showed emotion when he wanted to, and any other time he could keep it as blank as an empty canvas. The fact that he was a crazy idiot did not hinder his skills in deceit, and that only made the captain even more dangerous.

"But ya know…"

Straw Hat's voice broke the silence in the room. The captain was now staring at her with a curious expression.

"You said you wouldn't talk about Baroque Works…"

Straw Hat slowly raised his arm—and she was prepared for him to try and throw a stretched-out punch. But the captain didn't; instead, he only pointed a finger at her.

"But what about you?"

What?

She blinked. Her? What was the captain-?

"Why exactly did you join Baroque Works anyway?"

Oh.

So, that was Straw Hat's game. Try to learn her motivation for working with Baroque Works and then use that information to turn her against them. Really, that was such an amateur move.

And a move the princess should have warned against trying when Nefertari told the pirates about her. So why was Straw Hat even trying this?

She stared at Straw Hat with an eye that held nothing. For several minutes, neither she nor the captain spoke.

But, if Straw Hat wanted to play games—as in, games she  _excelled_ at—she would play along for now.

"Why do you want to know?"

Her words were spoken in the same emotionless drawl as always. Straw Hat looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Well…"

When he looked back at her, his lips were in a deep frown.

"I'm kinda bored. Nothing exciting's happened all day, and talking to you is pretty neat; I've never really talked to someone whose ass I kicked before."

Straw Hat paused, looking to the side.

"Well, whose ass Zoro kicked."

If Straw Hat thought she would get angry just from that, he would be disappointed. The captain slowly looked back at her, eyes looking over her body before he spoke.

"And you…you're kinda interesting. Never really fought a little kid who could actually put up a fight."

At the very least, she now knew for certain Straw Hat did not view her as a threat even though she almost killed his entire crew.

"So why exactly are you fighting for Baroque Works?"

Straw Hat tilted his head as he waited for her response.

Now, what should she go with? What would be the best thing to say to Straw Hat so that it appeared she was falling for his schemes?

Within a few seconds, she spoke.

"Why do  _you_ think I'm fighting for Baroque Works?"

Yes, that would do. Now, Straw Hat could deliver whatever spiel he wanted to try and turn her against her home. She had set it up so that he had the perfect stage to say whatever speech he wanted to give her. And she would learn whatever preconceived notions this idiot had of her and use that to her advantage.

Straw Hat stared at her with his small black irises. Then, he rested the side of his cheek into one hand as his elbow rested on his pant leg, tilted his hat so that the brim of it covered his eyes in shadows, and spoke.

"Well…I don't really know."

She didn't expect the captain to say that. Her expression was hollow and emotionless, but she was still confused by Straw Hat's words; she made sure those feelings were killed in an instant.

"Vivi says you're doing this because you enjoy other people's pain, just like every other guy we've faced 'till now."

Straw Hat's voice was emotionless, and while his words were calm—incredibly so—there was something else to them.

"But well...I think that's kinda wrong."

Whatever she heard was faint, but it seemed to get a bit louder with every word that left Straw Hat's mouth.

"When you attacked me and my crew on Little Garden, and on my ship, you didn't really fight like anyone who's tried to kill me before. And I don't just mean your powers."

There was a certain weight to Straw Hat's voice; something that grew heavier and heavier with every second.

"You didn't once gloat like the three-guy after he captured the Giants. You didn't laugh like the lemons-girl or smile like the snot-guy while my friends turned into statues. You didn't look even a little excited once you had Vivi under your control or when you cornered me."

Straw Hat tilted his head again, the shadows on his face moving so that she could now see only one of his eyes. And there was now a steely glint within his blank, black iris.

"The only thing you did was stare; that's it, just stare like you weren't all that interested in what was going on. And that's kinda weird to me, because everyone I've ever fought before has always done more than just stare in the fight. Those guys always had some kind of feeling on their face. They always look angry or excited or scared or  _something_ when they were fighting."

Straw Hat's very presence suddenly radiated with…something. She couldn't tell exactly what, but whatever Straw Hat was emitting was something similar to the same thing Miss Wednesday emitted when she spoke her deadly calm and sharp words yesterday, just with far more intensity. There was something suffusing the air around them that came from within Straw Hat, something that was related to Nefeltari Vivi.

Something that only belonged to people like the princess.

"Because whatever they had been fighting for, they would have lost it if they had been beaten by me. And they didn't want that to happen."

Something that only belonged to…royalty.

"Because the thing they fought so hard for…"

Straw Hat once again tilted his head. Now, she could see both his eyes while the upper portions of his brow were still bathed in shadows.

And his next words—even though they were spoken so softly, even though there wasn't even a trace of a threat within them—struck her so hard her eye almost widened. All the breath in her body escaped her in an instant; like when the princess slammed her by the throat against the wall.

"Was something that made them happy."

For one moment—that was it, a moment—she didn't think she was staring at a captain for a bunch of rookie pirates. For one moment, she thought she was staring at someone who could see everything about her, who saw all her weaknesses and could easily determine whether she was a true threat or not. Someone no one wanted as their enemy. Someone with the power to ensure he would never lose.

For one moment…she thought she was staring at a king.

"I don't know why you fight for Baroque Works, but I don't think you're  _happy_  doing it."

Absolute finality—the thing that had been steadily rising within his voice that she only now recognized—was the only thing present in each and every word Straw Hat spoke.

She had to fight to keep her expression empty and her lips in a thin line. She had to actually resist to urge to  _shiver_ as she continued to stare at Straw Hat with a hollow black eye.

...How? How did he know? Someone like Straw Hat shouldn't be able to accurately tell how she had been feeling as she fought. A crazy person shouldn't be able to make  _her_ feel like the one being scrutinized by someone far more competent. She should've been able to brush off the fact that this dumbass had been able to tell she wasn't happy with ease. His words shouldn't have been so effective on her—especailly since he wasn't even threatening her. A pirate like Straw Hat shouldn't actually make her feel...

Scared.

The silence grew.

It was just a tiny bit, but…

The seconds ticked by as she almost felt the empty quiet rubbing against her.

But…this… _insane bastard_ …scared her; with just his words. Just like Roronoa.

The rubbing sensation faded as she could feel something scratching at her skin. Especially on her back.

Just…just…like…

She suddenly felt like her body was being ripped to shreds as horrible,  _horrible,_ agony blazed throughout her body; everything suddenly hurt, everything suddenly turned to jet black and when the darkness faded she was whimpering in front of  _him-!_

"Happiness doesn't matter, Straw Hat."

Kill it.

Her voice did not shake.

"It's my job to bring the princess to my boss."

Kill your horror. Kill your terror.

She stared at Straw Hat with a hollow expression that had not changed once.

"It's that simple."

You are better than this. You are a devil. A cruel devil that does not feel.

"A. Job."

The void within her was just as cold as always; it was comforting.

Straw Hat's expression was still emotionless as his black eyes did their best to pierce her; to see through her. But she wouldn't allow them.

Because she was a professional. An assassin. And there was absolutely  _nothing_ within her body.

Straw Hat continued to stare at her for several more seconds before he spoke.

"But even if it's your job…shouldn't you be happy while doing it?"

"Not when you're doing a job like mine."

Straw Hat said nothing. He only stared.

And she stared back with an unblinking, unchanging, empty black eye. She wouldn't be scared again by any of these pirates. She had just been progressively losing her cool due to Mr. Dartboard Brow touching her and Straw Hat shocking her with his severe expressions and demeanor. That was it, that was the only reason she had been frightened and she wouldn't-.

"I see."

Straw Hat leaned back against the wall behind him.

And just like that, the presence Straw Hat had been secreting was gone; and she blinked. It did not slowly dissipate; it was simply there, and then it vanished. Just like how Straw Hat went from an idiot to a Grand Line captain, the immense pressure she had been feeling had disappeared just as quickly as his shifts in personality.

And she was left staring at Straw Hat's blank expression as he slowly looked up at the ceiling.

"That job of yours sounds pretty shitty to me though."

Straw Hat did not face her as he spoke, his eyes fixed to the wooden planks of the ceiling. And she remained silent, her empty eye staring right at Straw Hat.

And then, without any warning, Straw Hat jolted up on his spot on the stairs. She resisted the urge to tense as she watched the captain slam a fist into his open palm.

What was he-?

"Oh wait, I forgot about that!"

Straw Hat's eyes quickly lit with realization as his mouth hung open slightly. The captain then turned and stretched his left arm towards the hatch as he opened it with a slight push. He then continued to stretch his limb further and further, his arm now traveling outside the room and into the one above to do…something.

"Now where did I put that thing…"

Straw Hat's face once again scrunched up as she heard the sounds of his rubber arm slapping around on the floor above them.

"Nope. Not there. That ain't it either. Come on, come on, where did I…"

Straw Hat's lips moved into a frustrated frown as his rubber arm continued to thump above them.

Then, the frustration vanished as his mouth became a thin line.

"Oh, there it is."

With a snap, his rubber arm retracted back. It whooshed through the air as it bent and twisted back into Straw Hat's side.

And in his hand, was Bob.

"This is yours, right?"

He held out her hat in front of him.

She stared at Straw Hat with an emotionless expression.

They had her hat. It was right there; in that pirate's hand. Right there.

She didn't say anything.

What was Straw Hat going to do now? Crush her hat right in front of her? Mock her with the knowledge that her hat was literally right there and still out of reach.

She saw his fingers tighten on the wide maroon brim; they dug into the material with ease.

But it wouldn't matter what Straw Hat would do to her hat. Because that was all it was. A Hat.

Straw Hat started to pull his arm back.

A dumb, damn, hat that she didn't ne-.

"Catch."

What?

Straw Hat threw his arm across his chest and let go of her hat mid-swing. Her hat sailed through the air like a frisbee, and the instant she saw it was close enough to grab, she shot her hand out to grab it.

Only to miss due to her depth-perception still being skewered. Her fingers missed her hat by inches as it hit her right in her good eye; she bit back a grunt as her head tilted back from the impact.

"Oh, sor-."

She ignored the dumbass and the sting in her eye right as she reopened it and quickly reached for her hat again before it either left her reach or Straw Hat could grab it with his stretch limbs.

And the moment she felt her fingers secure themselves on the edges of her hat, she brought it to her chest and held it there.

She let out a small breath. And her fingers tightened around her old, oversized hat.

Welcome back, Bob.

"It have a name?"

She looked up and saw Straw Hat staring at her, head tilted to one side.

She stared back at Straw Hat with a half-lidded eye before she spoke.

"What?"

Why was Straw Hat giving back her hat? Why wouldn't he just destroy it right in front of her to try and see if he could get her to-?

"Your hat? It have a name?"

Oh, so that was why.

"It's a hat."

Her voice was emotionless as she slowly placed her hat back on her head.

Straw Hat was trying to see just how much her hat meant to her. To see just if it was some sort of object she had an emotional connection with or her or just some accessory. And if he thought it was the former, then he would let her keep it, and when she least expected it, would take it away and then destroy it. That way she would despair over losing the only comforting object she had on this ship full of enemies.

Too bad that, even if she did value her hat, she wouldn't let Straw Hat ever know that.

"It doesn't have a name."

Her expression was still empty as she stared at Straw Hat, whose eyes glanced away from her and to her hat.

"Oh, too bad. Guess you're like Usopp, he doesn't have a name for his hat either."

The captain reached for his own hat and pulled it off his head, revealing Straw Hat's messy black hair; he then held it out in front of his face.

"I don't get why though. A hat keeps you cool on a hot day, it's a great way to block out the sun if you wanna take a nap outside and they even make okay pillows."

Straw Hat was now balancing his hat with his pointer finger; the hat swayed back and forth as Monkey D. Luffy stared at her.

"After doing all that stuff, I think a hat deserves a name."

She saw a gleam in Straw Hat's eyes. A small gleam, but she still saw it. It took her a moment, but she realized that the gleam was telling her that Straw wanted her to ask a question.

A very specific question. A very  _dumb_ question.

She continued to stare at Straw Hat is the captain sucked in his lips as he waited for her to ask the question, expression almost pleading. For several minutes, there was only silence in the room.

And then, just so Straw Hat would stop making that stupid face, she spoke.

"So, what is your hat's name?"

Straw Hat lips instantly moved into an eager grin, finally able to say what had named his-.

"Hat."

There was no damn way she heard that right.

She stared at Straw Hat, and the captain now looked proud as his grin grew.

"…Hat?"

No way. There was no way-.

"Hat."

Straw Hat nodded his head. She had heard right. The man had named his hat,  _Hat_.

…What a damn  _dumbass._

"Oh, wait."

Straw Hat blinked as his lips moved into a thin line.

"Your hat doesn't have a name…"

He trailed off as confusion rose within his expression; Straw Hat placed his hat back on as he tilted his head.

"But, what's your name?"

She quickly scanned Straw Hat's face, and she saw that he was not mocking her and was honestly asking her that question. The man forgot her name.

Straw Hat continued to stare at her as the captain crossed his legs.

Dumbass. Just… _dumbass._

"Miss Goldenweek."

"No, not that."

What?

Straw Hat was waving his hands dismissively, lips moving into a frown.

"I meant your actual name."

She stared.

"Your secret agent name's cool and all, but what's your actual name?"

She said nothing.

"Is it-?"

She interrupted the dumbass before he could finish.

"My name is. Miss. Goldenweek."

Every single word that left her lips held enough ice to put a blizzard to shame; there was nothing within them but frigid hatred. Her voice was as soft and as emotionless as always, but there was now a deep chill within it, born from the same void that festered inside her.

"Got it, you idiot?"

Her eye narrowed at Straw Hat; not glared, but narrowed, barely moving a fraction of an inch. Because that was all she had to do to make sure this pirate understood.

She was Miss Goldenweek. Assassin, painter, and devil. That was all she was.

Straw Hat did not react at all to her frigid tone. The captain did not even blink; he only stared at her with a blank expression.

And then, he squinted at her, confused.

"Your parents named you 'Miss?'"

That was what Straw Hat focused on. Not her cold voice, not the chill her words carried, but instead the belief that the name she had been given when she was born was Miss Goldenweek; the captain was unable to tell what she actually meant with her statement, and somehow reached an absolutely idiotic conclusion.

Her empty eye stared right at the dumbass across from her.

…Screw it.

"Yes. Yes they did."

Straw Hat nodded, flipping his hat with his finger as it landed back on his head before he crossed his arms.

"I see."

No, he didn't. Not even close. He was basically blind to-.

It was at that moment that she heard the hatch opening up. She turned her head and saw Mr. Dartboard entering the room as he walked down the steps; the pirate glanced at her with his one visible eye and then glanced at the empty plate of food.

Mr. Dartboard Brow grinned just as Straw Hat's head whipped towards his cook.

"Oh, hey Sanji! Did you check on Nami?"

"Of course I did."

Mr. Dartboard Brow continued to descend down the stairs as he looked at Straw Hat.

"And, surprisingly, you were right."

Once Mr. Dartboard Brow reached the step right above Straw Hat. He let out a puff of smoke.

"My sweet navigator was definitely acting strange."

Mr. Dartboard Brow frowned.

"She looked really tired when she was reading by her trees. She said she was fine, but…"

Mr. Dartboard Brow trailed off as he took the cigarette out of his mouth with his right hand.

"I think it would be best if we try and ease some of our wonderful Nami's duties for a bit. At least, the ones we can help with, anyway."

While he did not even glance at her, she knew that when Mr. Dartboard Brow said duties, he was referring to guarding her; mostly, anyway. If the navigator was not feeling well, and she was fairly certain that Mr. Dartboard Brow was honest because he would have no reason to lie about this, then that means that when Ms. Orange Hair was guarding her, the navigator would be weak.

And that would provide her with opportunities to escape.

"You didn't annoy the little lady, did you?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow glared at his captain as he spoke. And Straw Hat looked confused as he stared at his subordinate with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Of course not."

Straw Hat turned towards her.

"Right, Goldilocks."

Goldenweek you dumb-.

Mr. Dartboard Brow suddenly raised his leg before slamming his heel right on top of Straw Hat's hat. Straw Hat's eyes went wide as his head jerked forward, neck stretching a bit forward before quickly retracting back as he rubbed the spot of underneath his hat that Mr. Dartboard Borw had hit.

…What the-?

"Idiot! That's not her name!"

Mr. Dartboard Brow wasn't quite shouting, but he was rather close to doing so.

"What? Yes it is."

Straw Hat was still confused as he turned away from Mr. Dartboard Brow and towards her.

"Right, Yellow-."

Another kick to his head interrupted the dumbass before he could finish.

"Are you doing this on purpose!?"

"Ow! That one actually hurt!"

Straw Hat quickly stood up and grabbed the insides of Mr. Dartboard Brow's cheeks, cigarette falling out of his mouth as Straw Hat began to pull to the side. Anger rose within Straw Hat's voice as he shouted.

"What's wrong with you, Sanji!?"

Even with his cheeks stretched out, she could still see the angry expression on Mr. Dartboard Brow's face as he reached for his Captain's own cheeks and started to stretch them as well.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you!? You can't even remember a lady's name!"

Surprisingly, Mr. Dartboard Brow could speak rather clearly with his cheeks stretched.

Straw Hat was now glaring at his cook as he pulled even harder.

"I can remember things just fine!"

Somehow, Straw Hat could also speak; even with his mouth stretched like a wad of taffy.

"You and I both know that's bullshit!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"I'm the captain and-!"

"And can't remember stuff if his life depended on it!"

"Why you-!"

She watched as the two grown pirates bickered back and forth on the steps. Her expression was still emotionless as she stared at Straw Hat and Mr. Dartboard Brow. Once again, Straw Hat did not react to his own crew striking-.

No. Just…no. Don't think about that now. Thinking it about it will only lead to a headache.

Instead, focus on your plan.

She glanced at her broken arm, and the matches that were hidden by her bandages. And while that was currently the only item she had on hand, she could already see how they would be useful.

She stared at the two pirates as they continued to shout at one another. Specifically, at Straw Hat, the strange yet dangerous pirate that defied her every expectation. He was a much bigger threat then she first thought. But, it would not matter how deadly or powerful Straw Hat was.

Because all it takes is one good spark to start a fire.

All it would take is for these pirates to miss one little thing, and then death would slowly inch closer to them.

And Straw Hat had just begun his path towards his downfall.

**_Report 004: End_ **


	5. Goldenweek's Report 005: Days Five, Seven, and Nine

In her time as an agent of Baroque Works, Miss Goldenweek had seen a variety of torture techniques. Mr. 3 pouring hot wax onto someone's bare body, Miss Valentine sitting on someone as she slowly increased her weight, and Miss All Sunday slowly breaking every bone in a person's body—sometimes without even the use of her Devil Fruit. And each and every torture technique she had witnessed had been cruel and incredibly effective, things that could reduce men and women to sniveling wrecks or break their very psyches.

Listening to Mr. Tengu telling her crap stories was only somewhat less inhumane than the intense horrors she had experienced—and she was immensely glad that the man had finally stopped spouting garbage from his mouth.

Her half-lidded eye watched at Mr. Tengu shouted from their stairs; not at her but at Mr. Dartboard Brow just a few steps below.

In the two days since Straw Hat had talked with her alone, she learned that Mr. Tengu loved to hear himself talk. And for the last two hours, Mr. Tengu's had been telling her "tales of absolute truth and bravery," as he called them, and she was forced to listen to each and every one of his "tales"—because despite her best efforts, the pirate's high pitched and annoying voice was impossible to ignore. And during what little breaks he took, he either talked with Mr. Dartboard Brow or asked her for opinions on his "tales," which she had never once answered. And immediately after, he would start blabbering on and on again for far too long.

It was only a minute ago that Mr. Dartboard Brow finally told Mr. Tengu just how "shitty" his stories were, leading to the argument she now watched from her bed. But the cook wasn't nearly as harsh at insulting Mr. Tengu's "tales" as she would have preferred; she had honestly been hoping Mr. Dartbaord Brow would kick Mr. Tengu in the head like had done with Straw Hat, but for some reason, he didn't.

And as she stared at the loud-mouthed idiot with an emotionless expression, she began to miss Roronoa. Before, when it was just her and the swordsman, things had been quiet.

"Take that back you bastard! My stories are amazing!"

Unlike now.

Anger grew within Mr. Tengu's voice as he screamed, but Mr. Dartboard Brow was not intimidated in the slightest; after all, who would be? Instead, the cook turned his head slightly and stared at Mr. Tengu for a few moments with a blank expression. And then, Mr. Dartboard Brow spoke.

"That is the biggest lie you've ever told, Usopp."

The moment Mr. Dartboard Brow's finished, Mr. Tengu's eyes went wide with shock as he gasped, loud and shrilly.

"What!? Oh, you no good-!"

Mr. Tengu angrily sputtered as Mr. Dartboard brow let out a puff of smoke, the cook staring at the blabbering idiot with an almost bored expression. And after a few seconds, Mr. Tengu's stuttering came to an end as the pirate abruptly shut his mouth and straightened up. He then brought a fist to his mouth and coughed into it, trying to act more composed than he actually was.

"Ahem! I wasn't asking your opinion Sanji."

"It's not an opinion. It's a fact."

Mr. Tengu's right eye twitched as he gave Mr. Dartboard Brow an irritated glare.

"I was asking for  _her's._ "

Mr. Tengu pointed a finger at her, but his eyes were still focused on Mr. Dartboard Brow.

Oh, right. Before, Mr. Tengu had once again asked for her opinion, and as she sat in silence, Mr. Dartboard Brow had suddenly spoken up and had essentially voiced how much she hated the scrawny pirate's stori-.

"And considering how she hasn't once complained about my undeniably amazing tales, I can safely say she's enjoyed them."

Excuse you?

Mr. Tengu nodded his head, a pleased grin spreading across his face. Like he actually believed that bullshit.

Oh, hell no.

"She's probably stunned by the sheer awesomeness of-!"

"No. She isn't."

It was the first time she had spoken since Mr. Tengu began his blabbering. The two pirates turned towards her, surprised she had actually spoken.

Under no circumstance was she going to allow anyone to think she enjoyed Mr. Tengu's asinine stories.

"H-Huh?"

There was confusion in Mr. Tengu's expression as he stared at her.

"If you honestly think I like your "tales," then you're the dumbest person I've ever met."

The moment she finished speaking, Mr. Tengu's face went from confused to shocked as his mouth hung open.

"What!? The dumbest-!?"

"Never in my life have I heard anyone who could spout as much garbage as you can, Mr. Tengu."

Mr. Dartboard Brow grinned slightly at her words, and Mr. Tengu's mouth now hit the floor.

"Wait…really?"

"Really."

"You didn't like them?"

"Not even remotely."

"Oh…"

Mr. Tengu's shoulders slumped forward, and Mr. Dartboard Brow's grin grew. Mr. Tengu then lifted his head as he stared at her with a dejected expression.

"What…what didn't you like about them?"

She stared at Mr. Tengu's glum face. And after several moments, she spoke.

"Where. Do I. Begin?"

Every word that left her mouth was just as empty as her expression.

"Let's start with the fact that your stories are some of the most ludicrous and asinine things I've ever heard in my life."

She saw Mr. Tengu flinch, and just as he was about to say something, she continued.

"How did that one with the wolf go? Oh, now I remember. The brave captain fought a giant wolf with the strength of two hundred and eighteen men and beat it with a…hermit crab?"

"A seashell."

With a glance, she saw that Mr. Dartboard Brow's grin had once again grown as he spoke up.

"Oh yes, that's right; a seashell."

She looked back at Mr. Tengu with an emotionless black eye.

"You claim these stories are a 'hundred percent true and accurate,' but everything about them makes it obvious they're just from your idiotic imagination."

Mr. Tengu flinched again, this time even harder than before.

"The 'brave captain' does things that you seem to think are 'awesome,' but in actuality are just asinine. Attacking wolves with only seashells? Fighting an angel with a rubber band? Using frying pans to beat up a massive penguin? What kind of an idiot would try these things and expect them to work?"

This time, Mr. Tengu didn't flinch. Instead, it looked like her words physically stuck him in the abdomen like a punch as he gasped, doubling over slightly.

She heard faint chuckling from Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"Truly, you have a way of making the 'brave captain's' stupidity shine. After all, only an idiot would somehow forget he has a literal army at his beck and call and never use them when it's necessary. Only an idiot would forget that he has the strength of 'a hundred thousand gorillas' and never uses that strength when he's tied up with rope or trapped in a normal prison cell."

Another invisible punch struck Mr. Tengu as his knees hit the step he stood on, arms now wrapped around his stomach.

"But do you know what the most ludicrous, stupid, absolutely painful aspect of your 'tales' is?"

She paused, staring at Mr. Tengu with the same empty expression she had on since the beginning. The pirate, still kneeling on the steps with his arms around his gut, slowly shook his head. Her eye then narrowed slightly—fear rose within Mr. Tengu's expression—and then she spoke.

"It's the fact that you expect me to believe that the 'brave captain' is you. And if you expect me to believe that a scrawny, cowardly pirate like you-."

Her words struck Mr. Tengu's cheek as his head whipped to the side.

"-could ever hope to be anyone's captain-."

His head whipped to the other side.

"Then Mr. Tengu, you are the most idiotic, brain-dead liar I've ever met."

The moment she finished, Mr. Tengu brought both hands over his heart as he let out another gasp, acting like she had just shot him. He then quickly stood up, swiveled on his spot on the stairs like he was dizzy, and fell off the edge of the step and onto the floor with a crash.

"You…you got me. I'm dead."

Mr. Tengu's words were as loud as a mutter, but she still heard. And she also heard Mr. Dartboard Brow chuckling; the pirate's shoulders shook as he took out the cigarette in his mouth, small coughs of smoke escaping from his twitching lips.

"I-I think you were a little rough on him, little lady."

A few more chuckles escaped Mr. Dartboard Brow's mouth as the cook tried desperately to suppress his laughter. With a large grin, Mr. Dartboard Brow glanced at his "fallen" comrade.

"I don't think his ego was ready for… _that._ "

She didn't reply. She stared at Mr. Tengu, who now had his tongue hanging out from his mouth.

She thought that Mr. Tengu would get angry, but instead her words actually hurt his pride; she could tell he wasn't acting, mostly anyway. For some reason, Mr. Tengu didn't care that she had insulted him, and instead, was genuinely upset that she—his own enemy that almost killed him and his crew—didn't like his "tales."

It was—like a lot of things on this ship—weird.

"You alright there, Usopp?"

She turned her head and saw that Mr. Dartboard Brow was still grinning as he stared at Mr. Tengu.

At the very least, Mr. Dartboard Brow's reaction was something she had expected. As the days passed it had become even more obvious that Mr. Tengu was the Straw Hat's whipping boy; someone who they mostly kept around because making fun of a spineless coward like him was a good way to pass the time. It was why she did not expect Mr. Tengu to do anything more than make pathetic threats he would not follow through with, like he had on her second day of the ship.

And seeing Mr. Dartboard Brow actually falling within her expectations somewhat eased the irritation within her body.

"No…I'm not alright. I'm dead."

Mr. Tengu let out a long groan as he shakily raised his right arm.

"To think, this is where the Great Captain Usopp meets his end…on his very own ship…slayed by the hands of a little girl…"

The overly dramatic coward coughed as he tilted his head towards Mr. Dartboard Brow.

"Sanji… my most loyal follower, please…avenge-."

"I refuse."

Mr. Dartboard Brow's response was curt, grin vanishing as a large frown took its place.

"…What?"

"You were about to say 'avenge me,' right?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow put his cigarette back in his mouth.

"Sorry, but even if it's for you, 'captain,' I'd still refuse."

The cook let out a large cloud of smoke.

"Because no matter what, I won't harm a lady."

While Mr. Dartboard Brow kept staring at Mr. Tengu as he spoke, she knew his words were directed at her. And—for less than a second before she killed the urge—she felt like rolling her eye. That lie was almost as bad as Mr. Tengu's blabbering.

"You're a stone-cold bastard, Sanji."

Mr. Tengu glared at Mr. Dartboard Brow as he slowly got up from the floor.

"Seriously, what kind of loyal follower leaves their glorious captain unavenged?"

Once Mr. Tengu stood up, he moved back to the stairs, brushing off any dust on his overalls with one hand. Mr. Dartboard Brow then gave the coward a dry stare.

"When it's my 'captain's' fault that he needs to be avenged in the first place, he deserves everything coming to him. I've told you before, Usopp; you gotta learn when to shut that mouth of yours up."

Mr. Dartboard Brow glanced at her.

"It's either gonna get you in trouble or drive people like the little lady nuts."

Mr. Tengu reached the bottom-most step and turned to face her. And the coward looked embarrassed, scratching his cheek with a finger.

"Were they…really that bad?"

Her hollow black eye stared at Mr. Tengu. At the man who was now embarrassed. Embarrassed, and not even showing an ounce of the fear.

She did not say anything as the silence grew. She did not know why Mr. Tengu would be embarrassed about the horrible stories he told his prisoners—why would he care about her opinion, after all—but if he wanted an answer-.

"Mr. Tengu, I was once stabbed in my chest with a long, jagged knife."

-she would give him the most honest one she could give.

With those soft words, she instantly had Mr. Tengu and Mr. Dartboard Brow's attention. Mr. Tengu's eyes were wide and Mr. Dartboard Brow's one visible eye also widened; though not as much as Mr. Tengu's.

The silence that followed was cold and lifeless; just like her. She found it very comforting, like staring at one of her drawings; the ones with crisp, firm lines and subdued yet captivating colors.

"Er…um…"

The coward's stuttering was what eventually broke the wonderful silence. She turned her head to fully stare at Mr. Tengu.

"I-um, sorry, what?"

There was confusion within Mr. Tengu's expression now, not understanding what she was saying in the slightest. But she didn't care, and she continued.

"After Mr. 3 and I took care of a crew of pirates on their ship, one pretended to be dead and got the drop on me."

That had happened near the beginning of her career. She had not confirmed her kill and when she passed by the seemingly dead man on the deck, he got up and stabbed her before she could paint him with one of her symbols.

Mr. Tengu flinched slightly at the absolute chill in her voice.

"Mr. 3 subdued that pirate with his wax almost instantly, but he was still able to stab me rather deeply."

It was the first and last time she ever made that mistake.

As her words became colder, she saw fear—along with a touch of shock—rise within Mr. Tengu's expression.

"It was like I could feel every one of my nerves and organs suddenly burst at the same time. And then, that little explosion was followed by agonizing heat."

Her voice was like a blizzard, unyielding and sweeping through every inch of the room.

"Your stories are somehow even more painful than getting stabbed through the chest. In fact…"

Her expression was just as icy as her drawl. Fear now slithered throughout Mr. Tengu's entire face, the coward wanting to escape from her words but having nowhere to run.

"If I had to guess, I would say your 'tales' are as painful as getting stabbed repeatedly in the face."

Her eye narrowed, and Mr. Tengu let out a yelp; because her face now held an intensity born from her every moment as an assassin.

"Which is what I did to that pirate when I grabbed his knife and paid him back for what he did."

Mr. Tengu was now fully terrified—as he should have been. Fear now leaked from his body and practically flooded the room. If she could feel—or if she was Mr. 3—she might have smiled at Mr. Tengu's reaction.

She did not like how this pirate seemed to be growing less scared of her as the days passed by. So, she decided to remind Mr. Tengu just  _what_ she was. Telling her that moment from her past—which she only told because the pirates had beaten her and seen her back, so they knew were times where she was...vulnerable—was the best choice.

Because not only was she showing just how cold and empty she truly was as she recited that story, staring at Mr. Tengu with an unblinking eye, the pirate also saw the threat lurking within her words.

I always get back at those who hurt me, pirate.

Cold sweat descended down Mr. Tengu's forehead, body trembling slightly.

She would get back at these pirates; she would complete her mission.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Dartboard Brow move. She turned her head to look at the cook.

And she saw the rage within in his expression. Mr. Dartboard Brow tried to keep his anger in check, but he failed miserably. His visible eye twitched and his lips constantly moved from a thin line to a deep scowl. And as more and more rage contorted his expression, the pirate slowly took out the cigarette in his mouth and crushed it with a tight fist, not even flinching as a sizzling sound emerged from his hand.

She could see Mr. Tengu glancing at Mr. Dartboard Brow. And a few seconds later, he took several steps away from the cook.

Well, she did just promise Mr. Dartboard Brow she would kill him and the rest of his crew, so getting angry was something she had expected. And now, she at least had a better idea of Mr. Dartboard Brow's character; someone who was quick to anger when either himself or his crew were threatened.

She stared at Mr. Dartboard Brow with an emotionless expression, and she heard him let out a tiny hiss. The cook looked like he wanted to desperately punch—or, maybe kick—whatever made him so angry. Or maybe even rip it to shreds and watch it beg for-.

She suddenly saw a snarl. A very familiar, very  _angry-._

Kill. That. Thought. Kill it.

Her expression had not changed in the slightest as Mr. Dartboard Brow took a step forward.

It did not matter. The moment she finished speaking, she had been prepared for Mr. Dartboard Brow to try and strike her at any moment. And even though she was about to have her teeth and bones broken, she had gotten her message across, so it did not matter.

More anger rose within Mr. Dartboard Brow's expression, and despite his visible efforts, it showed no signs of stopping.

But she'd get him back; as well as his crew. She'd complete her mission and then take out this damn-.

Mr. Dartboard Borw suddenly turned away from her and went up the stairs. And when he spoke his voice was tight, just barely holding back the anger within him.

"Excuse me, I just remembered I forgot to give Nami her dessert."

What?

She watched as Mr. Dartboard Brow reached the top stair and pushed the hatch open.

"Huh?"

Mr. Tengu was surprised at Mr. Dartboard Brows sudden action, the coward staring at his comrade's retreating back.

"I'll be right back."

Mr. Dartboard Brow did not turn around to face either her or Mr. Tengu as he spoke. He only pushed the hatch open with one hand—the other still clenched into a very tight fist—and slammed it closed as he left the room.

She stared at the hatch with an empty black eye. After several minutes passed, she realized Mr. Dartboard Brow hadn't gone off to get some kind of weapon to strike her with. And then, she blinked.

What the hell? Why would Mr. Dartboard Brow just…leave? He had been furious when he heard her threat, so why hadn't he attacked her? Everything she had seen about Mr. Dartboard Brow—from the fire within his face to his enraged and twitching scowl—told her how much he wanted to unleash his anger.

So why didn't he? Why didn't he strike the person who made him so angry; why didn't he just start beating her within an inch of her life?

Slowly, she turned to face Mr. Tengu, who had been staring at her for a while now. When the coward caught her gaze, he instantly flinched.

She thought that the reason Mr. Tengu looked so scared of Mr. Dartboard Brow was because he believed that the cook was about to start kicking her face in; she knew the coward didn't have much of a stomach for violence and especially torture, so he would run away the moment the reality of his world came crashing down. But Mr. Tengu didn't look even remotely surprised that Mr. Dartboard Brow left—and of all the Straw Hats, he was the worse at keeping his emotions hidden so she knew he wasn't acting. So then what was it that Mr. Tengu knew about Mr. Dartboard Brow that she-?

"Um, Sanji should be back soon."

Huh?

Mr. Tengu's voice was full of the same nervousness that was growing within his expression; the coward swallowed audibly before he continued.

"I-it's just that, well, um, Nami really loves her dessert and, he's the cook so…you know."

Her expression remained blank as she stared at Mr. Tengu. The man truly was one of the worse liars she had ever met; Mr. Tengu knew why Mr. Dartboard Brow left, but he wasn't going to share that information with her. He would just let her believe that paper-thin lie about Ms. Orange Hair.

And speaking of the navigator, she noticed that Ms. Orange Hair had been progressively looking weaker every time she saw the petite woman over the last two days. When she last saw her, Ms. Orange Hair's eyes would sometimes become droopy, like she had trouble staying awake, and other times the navigator would cough violently for seemingly no reason.

If she had to guess, she would say the Ms. Orange Hair was sick. It was the most likely explanation, Ms. Orange Hair was the navigator on the Grand Line, so she had to constantly be on the lookout for sudden—and most of the time, deadly—changes in the weather. It was an exhausting job, and plenty of navigators on this sea were known to get sick. But while Ms. Orange Hair was weaker, the navigator still looked relatively fine, like whatever sickness was bothering her was not that big of a deal.

But…

She thought back to when she hit Ms. Orange Hair with Sadness Blue, and how well her Colors Trap worked despite the fact that Ms. Orange Hair looked fine.

…a voice—the same voice she had gained from her years as an assassin—told her that Ms. Orange Hair's sickness was more than just-.

"Um…"

Mr. Tengu's anxious voice interrupted her thoughts. She saw the coward staring at her, fear still present in his expression, but not as much as before. And that bothered her. Mr. Tengu should be far more scared than-.

"Sorry."

What?

Mr. Tengu swallowed, glancing around for a moment before continuing.

"About the stories, I mean. I…sometimes get carried away, and sometimes, don't notice things I probably should. I didn't mean to make you angry or anything."

She didn't reply. She knew Mr. Tengu didn't mean those words, but it was  _weird_ hearing a pirate say "sorry," like when Ms. Orange Hair "apologized" for causing her even a little discomfort when the navigator changed her bandages.

Apologizing to enemies wasn't something Grand Line pirates did; even if it was a trick.

"So, I promise I won't let tell you anymore 'shitty' stories from now on."

She stared at Mr. Tengu. At his regretful expression and somewhat embarrassed posture. For a moment—but only for that—she might have actually believed the coward.

Of course, his next words ruined any chance of that.

"Because from now on, I shall only speak of the  _truly_ magnificent conquests of the brave Captain Usopp!"

A determined frown crossed Mr. Tengu's face. And going by the dead-serious expression, the pirate really was planning on telling her more of his God-awful garbage. Mr. Tengu was acting like he wanted to  _impress her_ with his "tales."

But there was no way any pirate would ever want to impress their own enemy. Mr. Tengu, though, honestly thought she would believe such a horrible act.

She continued to stare for a few more seconds. And when she spoke, her expression and voice were perfectly empty.

"You really are the dumbest person I have ever met."

Mr. Tengu let out another agonized moan.

* * *

Miss Goldenweek had thought Mr. Tengu's stories were the stupidest things she would ever hear in her life.

She was wrong.  _So_ wrong.

She stared at the captain and the swordsman on the stairs. The two fully grown, adult men that were bickering—at least, the captain was—about one the stupidest topics she had ever been forced to listen to.

Her expression was emotionless, but for a moment, her right eye threatened to twitch from the stupidity coming out of Straw Hat's mouth.

For what felt like hours, the captain had been talking to Roronoa, or at some points  _trying_  to get the swordsman to talk, about topics even children would find absolutely asinine. And somehow, the newest topic Straw Hat and Roronoa were discussing was by far the stupidest.

Because the new topic was Straw Hat wondering if there was a Devil Fruit that could turn a man into a  _ship_  as big as an  _island_  that was made of  _candy and_  could shoot  _lasers_ and also  _fly._

She was suddenly missing Mr. Tengu. Even the worse "tales" the coward had told her over the last two day weren't as bad as listening to this  _dumbass_.

Roronoa let out a loud sigh as he once again tried to explain to Straw Hat why there was no way such a "useless fruit" was real. But Straw Hat still had on the same scrunched-up expression that made it clear he was not even close to understanding why his ideas were so asinine.

She had to fight to keep her lips in a thin line as the man  _whined_ about how a "ship-man" could be out there flying through the sea right as they spoke.

For the better part of three hours, she had been forced to listen to absolutely ridiculous conversations—no, wait,  _rants_ ; because Straw Hat just blabbered on and on and most of the time Roronoa would either not respond or give curt and clipped answers. And once their "discussions" had reached their current, and dumbest, topic, Roronoa had stopped responding with emotionless expression and small grunts and—for some reason—attempted to talk with his idiot of a captain.

She stared at the swordsman as he looked at Straw Hat with an expression that screamed: "how could such an idiot possible still be alive?"

When she woke up, Roronoa had not made a sound; the swordsman had been tapping his sword with some kind of white ball attached to a small stick. Roronoa gave her a glance before he nudged his head in her direction. Specifically at the tray of food that had at some point been placed in front of her as she slept. Roronoa had then told her to "eat up, midget," and that was literally the only time he had spoken. There had only been silence as she ate the porridge mixed with diced fruit—once again, there was no poison, only food that was somehow even more incredibly delicous than the last meal—and she had liked how quiet the room had been as Roronoa started to wipe his sword with a piece of cloth.

Because Roronoa's silence meant that, unlike his captain, he would act like an actual Grand Line pirate. She saw the way the swordsman positioned himself on the stairs, the way his right hand rested on one of his swords sheaths as he put away his polished blade. Roronoa could not have made his message clearer.

You're dead if you try anything.

She had stared at Roronoa as the pirate laid back against the wall and closed his eyes. And she kept staring even when it looked like Roronoa was sleeping; because she saw that the swordsman's body was still tense and ready to act at any moment. She wanted to show Roronoa his message did not scare her in the slightest. The only thing his threat did was relieve her of the irritation that had been steadily rising within her due to the idiots on the ship.

But then Straw Hat entered the room.

"-Like I said Luffy, it ain't possible."

"I don't believe you!"

And the silence went straight to a loud, asinine hell.

Straw Hat was now glaring slightly at Roronoa.

"There can totally be a ship as big as an island, made out of candy, shoot lasers and can fly! You're just saying there isn't because you haven't seen one yet."

"There's a damn good reason for that, Luffy; it's 'cause there's no way dumb shit like that could possibly exist."

Straw Hat was about to shout something, But Roronoa didn't give him the chance as he continued.

"Besides, you're missing the biggest problem. Fruit Users sink in water, so this "ship-man" would sink too. And what's the point of a man who can turn into a ship if he can't swim?"

Straw Hat blinked, tilting his head as he considered Roronoa's words.

"…I don't know."

"Exactly."

Her expression was still emotionless as she stared at Roronoa, who looked far more serious than he should be while talking about something so stupid.

"A Devil Fruit's supposed to give someone powers that are actually helpful. Fruit Users sink like stones, so turning into a ship becomes the exact opposite of helpful."

Roronoa rolled his eyes.

"Unless there's a Fruit with a sick sense of humor, there won't be any that can turn a man into what would basically be a soon-to-be-corpse."

The swordsman's lips moved into a small frown.

"Do you understand?"

Straw Hat's expression became contemplative. For several moments, he did not speak as he tilted his head slightly to one side.

Then, the captain slowly turned his head towards her, and then he spoke.

"Hey, what do you think?"

Monkey D. Luffy stared right at her hollow black eye.

"Do you think there's a Devil Fruit that can make people into candy ships?"

Leave her out of this stupidity.

She said nothing. She only stared back at Straw Hat's unblinking eyes. And after a minute, Straw Hat turned his head back at Roronoa as the captain pointed a finger at her.

"See, she thinks it's possible!"

Her right eye twitched in irritation.

"She didn't say anything!"

Roronoa wasn't quite shouting, but his voice was louder than any other time she heard it, save for when the Sea King attacked. Straw Hat turned his head back to face Roronoa.

"I thought her silence meant she agreed."

Irritation rose within Roronoa's expression, and Straw Hat's glanced back at her.

"Wait, was I wrong?"

Completely.

She kept silent as Straw Hat stared, his expression blank.

"Oh, guess I was."

When Straw Hat finished speaking, there was nothing but silence in the room; Roronoa leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes while Straw Hat looked at the ceiling, contemplating something.

She let out a tiny sigh, irritation fading. It looked like Straw Hat had nothing else to say-.

"Hey, wait!"

-for now. God, damn it.

An annoyed grunt left Roronoa's mouth as Straw Hat pouted at her. The captain was pouting; like a child. Again.

She had to fight to keep her right eye from twitching.

"How come you don't wanna talk with me? I thought you didn't talk much 'cause you were super quiet, but Usopp told me you talk a lot with him!"

Straw Hat's whiny voice only made him look even more childish. She actually had to sigh just so she could alleviate the annoyance rising within her head.

Seven days on this ship, and already, she was emoting more than she had in the last three years.

"She doesn't talk to Usopp, Luffy; she insults him."

Roronoa spoke up, cracking an eye open as he stared right at her empty eye.

"Why do you wanna talk to the midget anyway?"

She would not quite say Roronoa was glaring at her, but he was rather close to doing so.

"She's said everything we need to hear."

Everything except Baroque Works plans. Roronoa was not exactly being subtle with his message. She could only imagine how badly the swordsman wanted to make her scream, but for some reason, still held back from doing so. Most likely so he would enjoy it more when he finally ripped her skin apart with his swords.

Or maybe he was about to start now. Considering how long she had been on this ship, the Straw Hats could be planning to suddenly jump her when she least expected it and begin heir interrogation.

Her eye—her black, empty eye that held nothing—narrowed at the swordsman. Just slightly, but she knew the swordsman saw the movement.

"Huh? No, she hasn't?"

With Straw Hats words, she could see where this was going. The captain was finally about to start-.

"She hasn't told us anything about the other awesome islands!"

What?

"What?"

Roronoa's voice was full of confusion as he sat up and stared at his captain.

"What islands?"

Straw Hat raised an eyebrow at Roronoa.

"You know. The other islands on the Grand Line."

What? What the hell did that have anything to do with-?

"Vivi says this kid's been on the Grand Line longer than her, so she's probably seen loads of other cool stuff.

She wasn't a kid, dumbass.

"Don't you wanna hear about that stuff Zoro?"

An excited grin crossed Straw Hat's lips as the captain looked away from his subordinate and towards her. There was a gleam—well, more like a twinkle—within the pirate's eyes, almost pleading with her to talk about the "cool stuff" she had seen as an agent of Baroque Works.

Her expression was emotionless as she stared at Straw Hat.

How could the captain be such an idiot? She'd give anything for this to be an act, but no, the captain was just this stupid. Somehow, the man that had given her some of the coldest looks she'd ever received was also the biggest dumbass she'd ever met; and he seemed to get dumber with every second that passed. How such a crazy, moronic pirate existed, she didn't know. Just like she didn't know why the captain—who could actually be threatening to others—wasn't seriously trying to get information from her and instead relying on bad plans and pathetic-.

"Come on, I know you wanna know too, Zoro! I mean, for all we know, there could be an island full of nothing but booze and then you can drink booze for the rest of your life! Doesn't that sound cool?!"

"There's not nearly enough alcohol in the world for that to be possible, Luffy."

Straw Hat was no longer looking at her and instead staring at Roronao with his small black irises. She watched as the captain smiled at his subordinate before lightly chuckling.

"Shishishi!"

That laugh of his had been progressively getting more and more annoying as she—for less than a second—was reminded-.

Kill that thought, now.

Her expression was still emotionless as Straw Hat turned his head towards her.

"So, what kind of islands have you seen?"

The twinkle in his eyes was back now. And she said nothing. She just stared, killing any irritation that rose within her body.

Patience. Be patient. Deal with this idiot and later you can continue to-.

"Come on, tell me! Please!?"

It took everything she had to keep her lips in a thin line and prevent them from twisting into a frown. Straw Hat's voice somehow became more whiney with every word.

Patience.

"Come on, why won't you talk!"

Straw Hat gave her a sullen frown, and Roronoa took one look at his captain's childish face before sighing. The Swordsman then frowned before he turned to face her.

"Hey, midget. Just curious, but have you ever seen another pirate crew with a captain as dumb as this one?"

Roronoa pointed at Straw Hat, who was still staring at her with that stupid frown on his face. She then turned to fully face Roronoa, and slowly shook her head.

She was fairly certain that no one in the world could match Straw Hat's stupidity.

"Just making sure."

Roronoa rested the side of his face into his right hand with a resigned expression. And Straw Hat finally realized that what exactly his swordsman was asking her as his frown vanished, lips in a thin line and small black irises blinking twice.

"Huh? Wait…"

Straw Hat pointed a finger at himself.

"I'm the dumbest?"

Without any hesitation, she nodded.

"Oh, I see."

Straw Hat did not speak for a moment, expression once again contemplative. And then, without any warning, he started to laugh—not the awful one, but his other one, "hahaha."

"Well, at least I know that I'm different from other pirate captains. So, that's cool."

Straw Hat smiled, and she blinked. Because why would any captain be happy being dumber than their-?

"Hey, how about my crew?"

What?

Her expression was emotionless as Straw Hat stared at her, smile still wide and cheerful.

"Are the rest of them different from other crews you've met?"

"Of course we're different Luffy."

Roronoa's voice was dull as he spoke; the swordsman then lifted his head from his hand and stared at her.

"From what Vivi said, we're the first ones to kick her and that wax bastard's ass."

Roronoa paused, eyes slowly looking over her injured body. But she did not respond, her expression still empty as the swordsman continued.

"Not to mention the fact that I figured out how to break out of her crappy finger-paintings."

If Roronoa thought she would react to his taunts, then he was just as dumb as-.

"And considering that scared shitless face you made when I did, midget, I'm guessing that was a first for you too, right?"

...Oh.

She didn't respond.

Oh.

She only stared at Roronoa as he stared back. Her expression was perfectly void of any emotion.

Because while the rage rushing throughout her body was intense, she wouldn't let it show.

Oh. This.  _Bastard._

There was nothing but empty, cold silence in the room.

Once. That was it. One moment of weakness she had shown. Only once had she shown any feelings of helplessness and terror. Only once had she allowed her fear to overwhelm her as she trembled in the swordsman's ridiculous strong grasp. But that was only because Roronoa reminded her of  _him._ She wasn't scared of the swordsman. The only person who scared her was  _him._

Her face was still empty; her fury was immense, but she would not let even a hint of it show in her hollow black eye.

And now, this bastard was insulting her because the swordsman thought she was scared of him. And he wanted to remind her of that time where she had seemed terrified of him. Of that absolute feeling of being trapped and having nowhere to run as she suddenly saw that  _horrifying-._

No.

She let out a long sigh

You are emotionless. An assassin. A Devil.

"What, got nothing to say to that, midget?"

Show this bastard what that means.

She stared at Roronoa with an eye that held nothing. And after slaughtering every bit of anger within her—leaving only a void—she spoke.

"You're not different."

Roronoa raised a brow at her as Straw Hat blinked.

"Oh? Finally feel like talking, huh?"

She ignored Roronoa as she turned her head towards Straw Hat.

"Your captain-."

She turned back towards Roronoa.

"-you, and the rest of this crew-."

Her voice grew colder.

"-are just like every pirate I have ever met."

Straw Hat's shoulder sagged, and she ignored Straw Hat's disappointed "What, really?" as she saw Roronoa frown.

"Are you-?"

Her frigid voice interrupted Roronoa

"Some of you are idiots…"

Like Mr. Tengu and his garbage stories or Straw Hat with his childish actions.

"Some are insane…"

Like Straw Hat—again—and his nonsensical bullshit or Mr. Dartboard Brow and his constant lovesick expressions when he talked about the other women here.

"And some of you are just pathetic."

Like Ms. Orange Hair, the still-sick navigator. The woman who had been acting nicer to her over the last two days—even more so than the days before that—in absolutely disastrous attempts to get her to divulge information; what else could Ms. Orange Hair want when the navigator tried to get her to talk about boring, everyday topics? If it were not for the fact that Ms. Orange Hair was always guarding her with someone else, she probably could have taken the navigator out in a heartbeat if she wanted.

"I've seen all of that before. For the last five years, that's all I've seen from pirate crews."

Every word she spoke was colder than ice. They held a deadly frost that Roronoa did not miss as his frown deepened.

"You might think you're different, that you're special, but you aren't. You're just a group of murderous, asinine imbeciles that do not realize how outclassed they are."

The void inside her was embedded throughout every inch of her voice. The empty chill that made up her very being was now plain to see as it crept throughout the silent room.

"You Straw Hats might have beaten me and the other Baroque Works agents, but you're still. Only. Pirates."

Her eye once again narrowed at Roronoa; and her every moment as an assassin and the experiences born from it were channeled to her expression.

"And I've lost count as to how many pirates I've stabbed, poisoned, drowned, burned, suffocated or  _exploded_."

And she knew—with every cruel, hideous deed she had ever committed clear in her empty eye—that she had never looked more terrifying.

"And soon, you'll be joining those other morons."

The frigid finality in her voice could not have made it clearer as to what she meant; even to dumbasses like Straw Hat.

Death would come to these pirates. One way or the other.

Roronoa did not respond immediately to her words. He only stared at her hollow face and almost-dead eyes with his own hardened black ones.

And after a moment, he shifted his position on the stairs; his arms were now folded, legs hanging off the wooden board he sat on as he bent his torso forward.

And that was all Roronoa did before malevolence erupted throughout every inch of his expression.

"Is. That. A. Fact?"

Roronoa's words were curt and low, but she saw the barely restrained cruelty hiding beneath the surface. She saw the way his muscles tensed, as if preparing for an imminent fight. She felt Roronoa's malevolence leak from his cold frown and surround her, waiting to see if she would actually try to fight this demon.

When she spoke again, her voice had never sounded so lifeless. But there was no way Roronoa missed the finely sharpened yet immense malice within it.

"Yes. It is."

You're not nearly as scary as I am, bastard.

Neither she nor Roronoa made a single sound as they stared at one another. There was nothing but malice in the air; some of it hers and some of it Roronoa's. They both tried to overwhelm the other with only their cold, emotionless gazes. To get one to flinch and admit they were weak.

About four minutes passed; she had yet to blink, and neither had Roronoa.

And she had absolutely no intentions of letting this bastard think for even a moment she was-.

"Hey!"

Straw Hat—who she had forgotten about until right now—suddenly shouted. And not even a second later, the captain was suddenly behind Roronoa, fingers digging into his skin.

"How come you two are leaving me out of your staring contest!?"

Oh, God damn it was he back on this shit again? How the hell could Straw Hat think she would actually play a child's game with this bastard?

She kept her expression empty and lips in a thin line as Straw Hat leaned over Roronoa, neck stretching down until his face was right in front of his subordinate's face.

"Come on Zoro, how come you'll play with her and not me!?"

Her right eye started to twitch, and not because it was starting to hurt. Straw Hat's neck was swinging from the left to the right like a long, rubbery noose swaying in the wind. Roronoa did his best to ignore the swinging dumbass and continue to glare at her with his cold eyes, but his efforts were all but ruined because of his captain's stupidity.

"Let me join you guys too!"

When Straw Hat's head swung pass Roronoa, she saw the dumbass was now pulling on the skin around Roronoa's face, the swordsman's eyeballs now completely exposed and his frown almost saggy.

She saw a vein bulge into existence on Roronoa's forehead as Straw Hat continued to swing.

"Zoro!"

Another swing, and the vein got bigger. Roronoa was now shaking.

"Zor-!"

In an instant, Roronoa grabbed the back of Straw Hat's head with one hand as he stood up.

"Shut the hell up already!"

And with that furious roar, Roronoa—without the slightest bit of hesitation—slammed Monkey D. Luffy into the wall behind him face-first.

Her expression was blank as Roronoa let out loud, heavy breaths; Straw Hat's head was lodged firmly within the wall, the rest of his body hanging limply in the air. The swordsman had struck his captain. While not shocking as it would've been—and she hated the fact that she was actually getting used to this—it was still  _very_ surprising how all of these pirates seemed perfectly willing to attack their captain without any fear of-.

"Shit…"

Roronoa's voice was quiet, but she still heard him as her head turned towards him. But why did the swordsman curse? Could it be the captain was finally going to do his damn job and punish-?

"I'm gonna have to pay for that."

With those resigned words—like a dead man taking slow steps toward his executioner—she blinked.

…Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Just ignore the actions of these obviously deranged pirates and keep preparing for your escape.

Just keep preparing.

* * *

Miss Goldenweek would admit that these pirates were unlike any she had encountered before; to herself and only herself. She had long since realized that, and after being on this ship for nine days, that fact kept hammering itself deeper and deeper into her head. Even after observing each and every one of these pirates for days now, she still could not predict their actions or come close to understanding their thoughts—especially Straw Hat's.

But what she was currently experiencing was something else entirely.

She felt a somewhat strong yank on her hair, pulling her head to the right slightly.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to pull so hard. Just…give me a few more seconds."

With her head dipped down to the ground, Ms. Orange Hair spoke up from above her, voice apologetic—at least, Ms. Orange Hair tried to make it sound like it was, and she would admit that the navigator was doing a good job of that. This was the first time a pirate that grabbed her hair did not try and rip it from her scalp.

And it was also the first time that a pirate who had grabbed her hair had, instead of using the moment to try and stab her, braided it.

Yes.

A pirate. Was braiding. Her hair.

"Almost done…"

She felt Ms. Orange Hair's fingers carefully grabbing thick strands of her hair before interlacing one under the other into tight braids.

After changing all of her bandages and bringing her another one of her shirts and skirts, Ms. Orange Hair had asked her if she needed something—Ms. Orange Hair noticed that her lips were in a frown and that she was staring at her. And after being on this ship for nine days, she had been progressively getting more irritated that these pirates weren't interrogating her already. She'd tried killing that damn emotion, but the fact that these pirates kept trying idiotic tactics to trick her into revealing information—and also, just by being idiots—her irritation always came back twice as strong.

So, when she had responded to the navigator's question, she placed as much sarcasm as she could into her voice and said "Oh, I don't know, do you think you can braid my hair?"

She was going to say more after. Something along the lines of "I want to look my best before you punch my face in;" something that would make it obvious how tired she was getting of Ms. Orange Hair's pathetic mind games. Unfortunately, the navigator's response had made her forget what exactly it was she was going to say.

Because without any hesitation, without even the slightest hint of deceit in either her voice or features, Ms. Orange Hair had said "sure…if you want me to."

She had stared at Ms. Orange Hair for a few moments. Even as the navigator grew more uncomfortable with her silence, Ms. Orange Hair still looked like she was being serious. She had told herself there was no way this pirate was actually being honest, and so she had told Ms. Orange Hair that yes, she wanted her to; she wanted to see what this navigator actually had planned for her, and so she had prepared herself for Ms. Orange Hair to try and strangle her with her hair or do something similar.

But no. Instead, all the navigator did was braid her hair.

"A bit more and…"

This might've been the strangest thing to ever happen to her.

"There we go."

With those words, Ms. Orange Hair let go of her hair. She slowly rose her head and starred at the navigator.

The somewhat flushed, tired looking navigator. Over the last nine days. Ms. Orange Hair had looked weaker every time she saw the navigator—like her strength was draining with each day. And now, Ms. Orange Hair did not look weak or tired.

She just looked sick; _very,_ sick.

"What do you think? They look good, right?"

Ms. Orange Hair gave her a small smile, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right as the navigator looked down at her.

She did not say a word; her only response had been to look over the navigator's body.

She had known Ms. Orange Hair was sick, but now she could confirm that the navigator had not acquired her illness just from overexerting herself. She remembered how sometimes Ms. Orange Hair would forget to bring bandages with her or when the navigator would sweat and breathe heavily, like Ms. Orange Hair was in a sauna. Even while the navigator had been braiding her hair, she had seen Ms. Orange Hair's hands tremble for a few seconds before the navigator had gotten them to stop.

There was something wrong with Ms. Orange Hair. Something that was progressively making the navigator sicker; and that meant she had to find a way to escape and take down these pirates even sooner than she thought.

Because if she did not, it would be that much harder to get the princess to her boss if the navigator died before she took over the ship.

She was still staring at Ms. Orange Hair, and the navigator didn't show the slightest bit of discomfort as she matched her empty gaze, smile not twitching even slightly; either the navigator had gotten better at hiding her emotions, or she no longer was disturbed by her hollow stare. If it was the latter, she would have to something about that.

After several seconds of silence, she spoke.

"I cannot properly see them, so I'll take your word for it."

Ms. Orange Hair blinked. And then, her eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, right! Hold on a sec…"

Ms. Orange Hair's eyes went to the floor, head turning as she looked around.

"Where did I put that—there it is!"

Ms. Orange Hair reached with one arm towards a small handheld mirror leaning against her bed. The navigator then picked it up by its silver handle and brought it up until she was staring right at the round, reflective glass.

"So?"

In her reflection, she saw her swollen black eye and the red and bruised purplish skin around it; her eye had been getting better, and Ms. Orange Hair decided that it had healed to the point that she no longer needed to cover it in gauze—though, her vision out of that eye was still somewhat blurry. She saw her cheeks, long since bare of the ridiculous amount of blush she put on—in fact, this had been the longest time where she did not reapply it.

And she saw her hair was once again in pigtails. They looked almost exactly the same as before; though, they were perhaps a little looser than she would have liked. And they also did not have any pearl bobby pins in them.

She turned away from the mirror and looked at Ms. Orange Hair.

"It looks nice. Thank you."

Ms. Orange Hair's smile grew slightly at her empty voice.

"No need to thank me, kid."

She was not a child.

"I mean, I was the one that untied them, so…it's only fair if I fix them."

When did the navigator do that?

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair with an emotionless expression. And after a few seconds, the navigator blinked in realization.

"Oh, right! You were…knocked out when I did that."

Ms. Orange Hair had gotten better at picking up at her silent questions. But the navigator was still  _very_ far away from accurately reading her empty face—just like the rest of the Straw Hats.

Though, the captain was the closest out of any of them when it came to picking up on her thoughts. Somehow.

"See, um, when we…brought you back on board, you were…kinda…"

Ms. Orange Hair's expression became uncomfortable as she trailed off; or at least the navigator acted like she was uncomfortable. Just as Ms. Orange Hair was about to continue, a voice from the stairs spoke up.

"Because you were  _kinda_ covered in blood."

Ms. Orange Hair immediately frowned as she turned around. She followed the navigator's gaze and saw Roronoa looking down at her, arms crossed behind his head and a bored expression on his face. And that bothered her. Not what Roronoa said, but the fact that he was here instead of someone else.

Because over the last seven days, she hadn't seen even a glance of Princess Nefertari. At first, she had thought that maybe it was because either Nefertari herself or the Straw Hats decided to keep the princess as far away from her as possible just in case she ever managed to get out. But she realized that couldn't be the reason. She remembered how much the princess had glared at her on her second day of the ship, how Nefertari had even dragged her out of bed just so she could keep a close eye on her.

There was no way the princess would not want to guard her and make sure she stayed their prisoner, even if Nefertari knew it was dangerous. Yet, not once in the last seven days had the princess guarded her; every other Straw Hat had taken turns watching her, but the princess hadn't done so since her second day being held captive.

But why? What would make the princess stop-?

"If I'm being honest…"

She saw Roronoa purposefully trail off as he glanced to the ceiling.

"I'm kinda surprised a tiny body like yours could bleed so-."

"Thank you. So much. For the input, Zoro."

She could almost hear Ms. Orange Hair grinding her teeth as she interrupted the swordsman, and while she could not see her face—she could only see the back of her head—she knew that the navigator was glaring at Roronoa.

And in response, he gave the navigator a tiny shrug.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

Ms. Orange Hair let out a growl—a small growl, granted, but she still heard it.

"Just remember what we agreed on, Zoro."

The anger in Ms. Orange Hair's words rose, and there was a very obvious threat lurking within the navigator's voice. The swordsman's eyes narrowed slightly at the navigator—not a quite a glare, but it was still a harsh look—but Ms. Orange Hair was not bothered at all by Rornoa's gaze as she matched it with ease.

But after a few moments, Roronoa grumbled something under his breath as he looked away from the navigator.

She blinked. Huh. She was surprised Roronoa broke away from Ms. Orange Hair's glare that quickly. She suddenly remembered how Ms. Orange Hair got Roronoa to sweat just by mentioning some kind of debt. How he actually took a step back because of the dark gleam in her eyes.

It was almost like Roronoa was  _scared_ of-.

"Don't listen to him, he's exaggerating."

She turned and saw Ms. Orange Hair staring at her with a small frown.

"But, you were a bit bloody, and there was some blood in your hair. So I had to unbraid your pigtails to get it out."

Ms. Orange Hair looked like she did not want to talk about the moments after Roronoa had nearly punched her eye out and when she almost drowned. Or, more accurately, Ms. Orange Hair  _tried t_ o get her to believe that the navigator did not enjoy talking about her bruised and beaten form.

"And, I gotta say, I can see why you like having your hair like that."

She watched as Ms. Orange Hair frown curled into a small smile.

"You look pretty cute with pigtails on."

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair with an emotionless expression. And she suddenly had to kill the urge to scowl.

She. Wasn't. Cute. Her pigtails made her look  _pretty._

And if Ms. Orange Hair couldn't see that, then she was just another idiot.

"Thank you."

She spoke in her usual emotionless drawl as Ms. Orange eyes looked her over, the navigator's lips slowly moving back into a frown.

"So-."

Ms. Orange Hair suddenly let out a cough as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Roronoa look at Ms. Orange Hair with a frown.

"S-so, how's your wrist feeling today?"

Mrs. Orange Hair stopped coughing as she looked down at her bandaged covered wrist.

"I…didn't make the bandages too tight, did I?"

Ms. Orange Hair had to pause for a moment to clear her throat, like she was having trouble swallowing.

She looked down at her broken wrist

"The bandages are fine."

"Okay. How about your wrist? How's that feel? Better? Worse?"

"I am fairly certain it's recovering."

It was rather hard to tell just how much her wrist had healed considering that most of the time it was in a cast, but it seemed like the broken bones were steadily recovering.

"That's good."

Ms. Orange Hair's eyes shifted to stare at her right eye.

"How about your eye? How's that?"

"It is just as bad as it looks."

Ms. Orange Hair's lips were back in a frown.

"Well…to be fair, your eye…isn't that bad."

She did not see why Ms. Orange would bother lying about that. She had literally just seen her swollen eye, and anyone could tell it was-.

"What eye are you looking at?"

Roronoa's once again spoke up from the stairs, voice almost incredulous. And this time, when Ms. Orange Hair growled, it was much louder than before. But Roronoa ignored the navigator as he continued.

"'Cause the one I'm seeing looks like shi-."

"Zoro, I'm a very patient woman."

Ms. Orange Hair voice was now very low, lips twisting into a deep scowl.

"But, even I have my limits. Like, if some dumbass were to say, make  _multiple_  holes in my room-."

Ms. Orange Hair pointed to the hole in the wall to the side of the bed—from when Mr. Dartboard Brow kicked Roronoa—and then towards the spot right above Roronoa where he slammed Straw Hat's head in, both now nailed with planks of wood.

"-that would make me a bit mad. And, if said dumbass kept breaking his own damn word, that would make me even madder."

Roronoa was about to speak up, and going by his somewhat insulted expression, he did not like whatever the navigator had just implied. But he never got a chance to finish as Ms. Orange Hair suddenly whirled her head to face the swordsman, his mouth abruptly closing.

And while she could not see the navigator's expression, she could feel the barely restrained animosity Ms. Orange Hair's glare radiated from her bed.

"So, if I were you, I shut my mouth right now and not open it for the rest of the damn day. Or I swear, Zoro, I will  _triple_ your debt."

She could practically see the rage within Ms. Orange Hair's eyes; and she watched as a bead of sweat began to descend down the side of Roronoa, his left eye twitching slightly.

"Got it?"

Roronoa stared at Ms. Orange Hair for a few seconds before he visibly clenched his teeth together. He then looked away, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he now looked both somewhat annoyed and  _very_ uncomfortable with the idea of his "debt" increasing—it was a rather interesting face, she hadn't quite seen anything like it.

"Fine, fine. I got it, witch."

Roronoa grumbled those words out, but she still heard them. Ms. Orange did as well as she nodded her head.

"You better,  _Mosshead."_

She saw Roronoa clench his teeth again, this time out of anger instead of discomfort. Ms. Orange Hair then turned around, a hand massaging her temple as she let out a very deep sigh.

"God damn it, now my head is killing me."

As Ms. Orange Hair continued to rub her head, she saw Roronoa glancing at the navigator with a frown. But she didn't know why. From what she had just seen—as well as the glimpses of their exchanges whenever Roronoa finished guarding her—Ms. Orange Hair and Roronoa were always at each others' throats. They were barely able to stand in the same room without fighting about something. So it wasn't like he was concerned about Ms. Orange Hair.

Not like Roronoa  _could_  feel concerned about anyone. The man didn't care about anything, least of all his-.

"So…"

Ms. Orange Hair's somewhat hesitant voice interrupted her thoughts. She saw the navigator looking over her injured body.

"Do you...want anything else?"

Yes. She wanted Ms. Orange Hair, as well as the rest of the Straw Hats, to drop this pathetic act already.

Ms. Orange Hair stared right at her hollow black eyes, waiting for a response.

Really, Ms. Orange Hair being nicer to her every day, like when she offered her oranges to snack on, giving her books to read or making sure they were the only ones in the room whenever she had to change clothes, was the worst attempt at acquiring information she had ever seen. And the other Straw Hats attempts at getting her to lower her guard—from Mr. Tengu's constant stories, Mr. Dartboard Brow giving her increasingly delicious food and Straw Hat trying to get her to talk about herself—were only slightly less bad than Ms. Orange Hair's own tricks.

The Straw Hat's should've just tortured her. They should have just dropped the charades and just interrogate her with far better techniques than the ones they were using now. And the fact that they didn't, even though the princess told them and because it should've been obvious such laughable mind games wouldn't work, just didn't make any sense.

Kind of like a lot of things on this damn ship.

Her expression was emotionless as Ms. Orange Hair continued to stare at her; after a few more seconds of silence, she spoke.

"No, I am fine. Thank you for the offer."

Ms. Orange Hair frowned at her hollow words.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She stared right at Ms. Orange Hair, and after a few seconds, the navigator looked away from her and towards the left-most corner of the bed.

Specifically, where she left Bob.

"Is…there something wrong with your hat?"

She did not turn around to look at her hat; she only continued to stare.

Since Straw Hat had given her hat back, she had not worn it once. She had placed it down on its brim and left it on the bed, not even glancing at it as more and more days passed. She did not want the Straw Hats to think her hat actually mattered to her, because then they would either take it away or tear it apart right in front of her.

Not that she'd mind if they did do that; she would just prefer if they didn't rip it to shreds. Not because she valued it, but because…it was just nice to have around.

That was it.

Her black eyes held nothing as she spoke.

"No, there is not."

Ms. Orange Hair looked back at her.

"Then…how come you haven't been wearing it? I'm pretty sure it's just been sitting in the exact spot for days now."

"I don't want to put it on."

"Why?"

"I don't feel like wearing it."

Ms. Orange Hair stared right at her empty expression.

"Okay…I just thought…well, Luffy said you li-."

Ms. Orange suddenly began to cough again. And she suddenly wanted to know what Straw Hat had said to the navigator. Because it sounded like the captain told Ms. Orange Hair that she actually  _liked_ her hat, which was wrong of course but-.

She realized that Ms. Orange Hair's coughs were growing harder with every second, the navigator's shoulders heaving. Ms. Orange Hair brought a hand right above her breasts, fingers clutching hard against her skin like her chest was in severe pain.

On the stairs, she saw Roronoa's frown get deeper as he pushed off the wall, eyes locked onto Ms. Orange Hair.

"So-sorry…I…"

She turned back around to face the navigator. And, she could have been mistaken, but was her face even redder than it was before?

"Don't…know why that happened."

Ms. Orange Hair's voice was far weaker than it had been seconds ago. The navigator's eyes were droopy, and it seemed like the navigator was having trouble focusing on her; when she looked closer, she saw that Ms. Orange Hair was sweating now.

"I…wha-what were we talking about?"

With those raspy words from Ms. Orange Hair, she knew that the navigator was getting worse with every moment. She saw the shaky breaths that left the navigator's mouth, the way her hands once again trembled and how she now looked like a light breeze could knock her out of the chair. At this rate, the navigator might just be the closest out of any of the Straw Hats to die first.

And if that were the case…then maybe it was time.

"Hey, witch."

Roronoa suddenly stood up from the stairs as he spoke. And Ms. Orange Hair frowned at Roronoa's words, eye somewhat more focused as she turned around to face the swordsman.

"What did I just say, Zo-?"

"You should leave."

Roronoa's blunt voice made Ms. Orange Hair cut herself off. But after a few moments, the navigator spoke.

" _What?"_

While she could not see her face, she could almost see the  _very_ severe glare Ms. Orange Hair was giving Roronoa, the navigator's body visibly tensing.

"And  _why_  exactly do you want me to leave her-?"

"Because you need to rest."

Roronoa slowly stepped down the stairs as he spoke, eyes still locked onto the navigator.

"What?"

The hostility in Ms. Orange Hair's voice was gone; now, there was only confusion as the navigator relaxed somewhat

"I don't need-."

"Yes. You do."

Roronoa had reached the bottom of the stairs; the swordsman then pointed at the hatch with his thumb.

"Just get out of here and take a nap or something. Vivi can handle the navigation and I can watch the midget by myself."

With Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair's attention on each other and not her, she slowly inched backward; her unblinking eyes never leaving the two pirates.

These pirates were crazy—and some of them were beyond stupid. They were worse than amateurs when it came to interrogation. And most of all, they were just  _weird._

But despite their insanity and weirdness, the Straw Hat's knew how to ensure a prisoner could not escape.

"Zoro, I don't need to rest. I just feel a little light-headed, that's all. And it'll pass soon."

There was skepticism in Roronoa's eyes as he looked over the navigator.

She inched back even more.

Over the last eight days, the Straw Hats constantly watched her every move. Whenever she ate, they always made sure every utensil was accounted for, she even saw Mr. Tengu checking for any missing chinks from her plate. Whenever she slept, Roronoa always sat at the base of the stairs, eyes closed and seemingly asleep but she knew he could pounce on her at a moments notice if she tried anything. And even when she was allowed out of her room and outside on the maindeck—for some reason—there was always someone standing either right next to her or watching her from above.

And add in the fact that they constantly checked under her mattress, sheets, and pillows, it made gathering materials and hiding them from these pirates almost impossible.

Almost, of course. Because the Straw Hats made one very large mistake.

They let her use the bathroom.

"You know, I thought that you could lie the best out of anyone here-."

"I'm not-."

"-but even Usopp can tell better bullshit than that, witch."

Roronoa's eyes narrowed as he walked towards the navigator. And she inched further back onto the bed.

Instead of forcing her to use a bucket, the Straw Hats had allowed her to go to their actual bathroom several times a day—they even let her use their shower. And whenever she did, no one else would enter the bathroom; they even covered up the porthole so that no one could peer in.

She knew why they did it, of course; it was just another pathetic trick to try and get her on their good side by making it seem like they were both kind and respected her privacy. And the first time she had been allowed to use the bathroom near the end of her second day, she carefully examined the room to ensure there was no way any of the pirates could see what she was doing. And after a few minutes of searching, she realized the Straw Hats had indeed left her alone with no one to watch her.

It was the stupidest thing any of the Straw Hats could possibly do.

Because a bathroom was for all intents and purposes an arsenal to her.

"Seriously, just find somewhere to lay down and go to sleep."

"I. Don't. Need-."

Another set of coughs interrupted Ms. Orange Hair, and they sounded even harsher than the last ones. Roronoa's expression tightened as his frown got deeper.

All while she kept inching back.

It was amazing what weapons one could make with everyday bathroom items. Shanks made from the bottom ends of toothbrushes by filing them against the edge of a mirror. A single stray piece of wood and some razors tied together with a shoelace to make a miniature whip. Even wet toilet paper, molded just right, could be made into a deadly weapon—if one had a decent source of glue or something like it, of course.

Unfortunately, she could not make any of those things. Because every time she would come out of the bathroom, Ms. Orange Hair would be waiting outside. The navigator would examine the bathroom and then pat down every inch of her body, making sure she had not taken anything; and even while sick, the navigator did a decent job of searching her. So, she could not take anything obvious from the bathroom.

But other things, the not so obvious things that anyone barely paid any attention to, were easy to steal.

"Nami, you're sick."

"No, I'm not."

She knew Ms. Orange Hair was once again glaring at the swordsman. But not even a moment later, the navigator started to cough again.

And she was almost near the edge of the bed now.

Garbage thrown into trash bins. The amount of toothpaste left in a tube or how much mouthwash was left in the bottle. These were objects that no one could say with one-hundred percent certainty just how much was there before. So, she gathered everything she could use that the Straw Hats would not notice was missing. She took the discarded hairbands, an empty violet bottle of nail polish, and even scrapped off portions of wax from the scented candles on the sink.

"Nami-."

"Zoro, I don't know how many times I have to tell you and the others this, but I feel just fine. I've been fine. Why exactly is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, maybe it's because you look as red as a lobster?"

"…It's a sunburn."

Roronoa rolled his eyes; the swordsman crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at Ms. Orange Hair with a blank expression.

"Yeah right."

She was at the edge of the bed now, empty eyes still fixed on the arguing pirates.

It had taken some time to actually make those items useful. It took her acquiring sugar packets and napkins from Mr. Dartboard Brow—and surprisingly, she just had to ask and the pirate just gave it to her without the slightest hesitation—and sneaking them into the bathroom. And after using the hairbands to tie the napkins around the tops of several shampoo bottles, whose heads she ripped off, she placed both toothpaste and water on top of the napkins so that it would filter out the specific material she needed. She then placed them under a loose floorboard deep in the corner of the room, which did not even look loose unless one examined it thoroughly, and waited. And after several days, she had what she needed.

A tad soggy, but still usable, potassium nitrate. A rather explosive chemical compound.

"You. Need. To Rest."

Roronoa's brows furrowed together.

"Why the hell are you acting like you can't even afford to take even a single break?"

"Because, I can't, Zoro!"

As Ms. Orange Hair raised her voice—not quite shouting, her voice was to raspy to shout, but it was rather close to it—she reached down with her hand towards the space between her bed and the wall.

After finally getting enough potassium nitrate, she had mixed it with the sugar from the packets along with some dirt, melted some wax with one of Mr. Dartboard Brows matches and added that to the mixture, and then placed it all in a small, cylindrical bottle of nail polish she got from the trash.

And once she had made a fuse from the ash of one of Mr. Dartboard Brows cigarette butts and some toilet paper, she had finished her bomb.

A smoke bomb granted, smaller than the width of her palm, but still a bomb. And from there, she had snuck her smoke bomb back into her room—she had put it in her mouth with its cap on because Ms. Orange Hair never checked there when she was searching her, the only tricky part had been making sure not swallow it by mistake. And then, when she acted like she was going to sleep, she carefully took out her bomb and had hidden it in a hole under the covers of the bed where she had also place her last remaining match; pushing it deeply within the cotton so that the Straw Hats could not discover it.

And now, as she grabbed the covers and slowly lifted them off the bed, was when she could finally-.

"I have to be ready at any time to navigate us through whatever bullshit weather phenomenon that this sea might throw at us, make sure you and Vivi don't try and rip this kid's head off-!"

She quickly brought her arm back up to her lap as Ms. Orange Hair turned to look at her. The navigator's expression was now fierce, almost as much as her words. But that lie was so ridiculous that there was no chance of her actually-.

"And, to top it all off-!"

Ms. Orange Hair turned back towards Roronoa, who still had on his emotionless, almost stone-like, face.

"-I have to now either watch out for or find a way to get to another island as fast as possible, which is damn near impossible in this freakin' sea, just so we-!"

Ms. Orange Hair abruptly stopped talking. And Roronoa glanced at her for a moment, examining her with his emotionless eyes before turning back to Ms. Orange Hair. There was only silence left in the room now.

She reviewed what exactly Ms. Orange Hair had just said in her mind. Why would the Straw Hats need to go to another island? They should have been heading straight for Alabasta, and stopping anywhere else would mean that they would have even less time to stop Baroque Works. Could these pirates be low on food? No, if they were, they would have stopped feeding her a while ago. Could they need supplies? Was there something wrong with their ship?

She couldn't come up with an answer; there were too many unknowns.

"...I have a lot of shit to do, Zoro. I can't rest, not now."

Ms. Orange hairs voice, now softer than it had been before, became deadly serious.

"Now when things are so…complicated."

She knew that what made thing so "complicated" for the Straw Hats was her. But it was more than just the fact that she was now their prisoner and they had to get information from her. She was missing something, and that bothered her. What could've complicated things for these pirates when all they had to do was seriously interrogate her and-?

No, stop. That didn't matter.

"Nami, you're not gonna be much help if you collapse from exhaustion."

All that mattered was escaping.

"I can keep going just fine, Zoro."

Ms. Orange Hair and Roronoa's attention were entirely on the other. With her emotionless black eyes facing the pirates, she once again reached with her right hand towards the hole in the mattress.

"You've been coughing like crazy, you nod off every five minutes, you're sweating like you've been out in the sun all day and I heard you vomiting in the bathroom just this morning."

She felt around for the hole, and once she found it, she reached in and her fingers almost instantly grabbed the smoke bomb and match within it.

"You're sick. You're already pushing yourself to hard. Rest."

"How many times do I have to say it before you understand, Mosshead!"

She could almost feel the anger from Ms. Orange Hair's voice as the navigator quickly stood up from her chair.

She removed the smoke bomb and match from the hole.

"I. Don't need. To rest."

Roronoa's lips twisted into a small scowl

"Nami, seriously, just listen-."

"No, you listen!"

Ms. Orange took a few steps forward, lifting a finger towards the swordsman.

Your timing has to be precise. If you do not get the match to light on the first try, they will hear what you are doing. And you need the element of surprise.

As subtly as she could, with her hand behind her back, she brought the smoke bomb into her broken left hand and the match into her right.

"I can navigate us just fine. I can do my job just fine-."

"You could do it better with some slee-."

"-and I don't need some idiotic swordsman telling me otherwise! Not when I already have a million other headaches to deal with!"

Just before it explodes, throw the bomb right at Roronoa's face. It should disorient him enough so that you can escape.

She leaned against the wall, slowly taking the cap off her bomb, and watched as Roronoa's scowl deepened.

"Oh for—witch, even  _Luffy's_ noticed how off you've been. Luffy! You're definitely not okay!"

"Tell that dumbass that he, and all of you, couldn't be more wrong!"

All she had to do was make it out of this room. Ms. Orange Hair had left the mirror right next to her bed, and with a quick punch, she could break it and take one of the shards as a weapon. Then she would run up the stairs as fast as she could, ideally before Roronoa could regain his bearings. The hatch did not lock from the outside, so all she had to do was push it open—If there was someone else waiting outside, then she would just stab them in their ankles or, preferably, their arteries, before they could even realize what was happening. And as they fell down their stairs in pain and shock, she would exit the room, slam the hatch shut behind her and then tip over the stack of burlap sacks, full of either rations or maybe gunpowder, from the nearby crate onto the hatch; trapping whoever was down there for as long as possible.

And then she would go straight to the bathroom.

"Nami, if you keep this up you're just gonna end up even sicker!"

"Well, right now, the only thing I'm really sick of is talking to you!"

She would go straight to the bathroom full of emerald-green hand sanitizer, thick-white shaving cream, Orange-colored shampoo, and various colored cleaning supplies. She had every single weapon she could need there.

"So just shut your mouth for once and stop telling me-!"

Ms. Orange Hair once again began to cough, hunching forward as she covered her mouth. Roronoa took a few steps forward, and his face looked…softer, somehow. It was still harsh, but she there was something else within his-.

"Tha-that I need to rest, damn it!"

As Ms. Orange Hair's voice cracked, she killed any thoughts about Roronoa's weird expression. Because in a few seconds, it would'nt matter.

"…Nami-."

"No, Zoro! Shut up-!"

She moved the match so that the tip was touching the wall, making an almost inaudible scraping sound.

In a few seconds, she would finally make her-.

"And let me—what was that?"

She jolted upright at Ms. Orange Hair's words as she froze. Shit, could she been—!

Her expression remained blank as she looked at Ms. Orange Hair with her half-lidded eyes. Any anger within the navigator's features was gone now, and in its place was confusion. Ms. Orange Hair looked around, like she was searching for something.

It wasn't her. Ms. Orange Hair had been talking about something else. But if the navigator hadn't realized what she was doing, then what was she-?

"What was what?"

Roronoa rose a brow, and then the swordsman head slowly turned towards her, eyes narrowed.

"The…the wind."

Roronoa looked back at Ms. Orange Hair, and she did the same. The navigator was now looking at the ceiling with a deeply contemplative expression.

"What about the wind?"

"It feels…different."

Now that she thought about it, there had been a breeze blowing through the cabin and gently brushing against her skin. There was wind here, even though the hatch was closed. And they were below deck. But she pushed aside those thoughts as she once again prepared to light her-.

"Usopp!"

Ms. Orange was suddenly shouting, voice breaking a bit as she did so, and that caused her to freeze as the navigator looked at the hatch. And a few seconds later, the hatch opened as Mr. Tengu's head leaned into the room.

There was also a rather strong breeze accompanying the pirate as he opened the hatch.

"What? Did something happen? You two were shouting more than usual."

Mr. Tengu's eyes almost immediately went to her, and she saw the slight anxiety within his expression.

"Usopp, how's the weather?"

Mr. Tengu blinked at Ms. Orange Hairs words as he turned around to face his crewmate.

"Um, hold on. Let me check."

Mr. Tengu closed the hatch, and she heard footsteps and what sounded like the door to the main deck creaking open. A few moments later, the pirate opened the hatch again and peered into the room before turning to Ms. Orange Hair.

"It's pretty good."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A bit windy, but it's not really a problem or anything. Heck, there's not a cloud in the-."

Mr. Tengu turned his head to look over his shoulder—he must've left the door to the deck open—and paused in mid-sentence.

"Oh, wait."

"What? Is something wrong."

Ms. Orange Hair took a few steps forward, and she heard a bit of…fear? Yes, fear, within the navigator's words. But why would the navigator sound scared?

"Huh? Oh, no, it's just…"

Mr. Tengu trailed off as his eyes narrowed.

"There's a lot of clouds in the sky now. Not storm clouds or anything, just regular white ones. But…I could've sworn it was clear just a couple minutes ago."

Mr. Tengu was worried now as he stared at Ms. Orange Hair. Roronoa was staring at the navigator as well, and while she could not see her face, she did see Ms. Orange Hair lower her head and bring her thumb up towards her mouth.

"Is…that a bad thing, Nami?"

Ms. Orange Hair did not answer Mr. Tengu, and the other two pirates waited as they continued to stare.

And now that everyone's attention was away from her, she could light her bombs without any prob-.

She suddenly realized that her right hand no longer held the match—she must've dropped when she froze before.

Oh, God damn it.

Slowly, she looked behind her. She saw the nail-polish bottle that contained her smoke bomb in her left hand, but the match was nowhere in sight. Shit, where the hell could it have gone? It couldn't have gotten far, she was sitting down on a damn mattress, so where-?

As her eyes darted left and right, she finally saw the match. It was wedged down right in-between the wall and the mattress, and it was just within her reach. She looked back and saw that three pirates still weren't focusing on her, so—while she stared at the pirates with an emotionless expression, just in case they looked back—she quickly reached down with her right hand towards the match.

"I don't…"

Ms. Orange Hair was muttering, but the navigator's words still reached her ears.

"It's probably nothing, but…"

It took her a moment, but felt her fingers just brushing against the matchstick as she continued to stare at the three pirates.

Just a bit more and-.

"Just…be on the lookout for any sudden-."

The wind changed in an instant.

Before, it was soft and gentle, nuzzling against her body as it slowly started to fade. But in an instant, the wind became violent, strong gusts now sweeping throughout the room and blowing right into her face.

And the ship suddenly lurched, the desk, chair, and bookshelf scrapping against the floor; Ms. Orange Hair and Roronoa stumbled, the navigator more so than the swordsman; Mr. Tengu was about to fall into the room, but he managed to grab onto the edges of the hatch and stop himself.

And she was flung to the side—knocking over Bob in the process—as her head hit the wall. Hard.

Son of a-!

She grit her teeth, a small growl escaping her mouth as she rubbed the side of her head to try and ease the pain. With her broken hand.

The hand that no longer had the smoke bomb.

Her eyes widened as she whipped her head around. In the gap between her bed and the wall, she saw her hat—now standing on its brim right on the edge of the mattress' frame. And a few feet to the right, her smoke bomb had been caught at an angle that miraculously prevented its contents from spilling. And below the bomb was her match, now even deeper in the gap the before.

Her right eye twitched.

You've got to be-.

"Okay…"

She quickly turned around as Mr. Tengu spoke. The coward glanced around at his crewmates, expression anxious.

"That was kinda-."

Mr. Tengu never finished as a surprised shout filled the room; it sounded like it came from the deck outside.

"Wait what was-."

Mr. Tengu's eyes went wide.

"Oh, crap, Luffy! Hold on!"

Whatever was happening to the captain, it was apparently urgent enough that Mr. Tengu had to slam the hatch shut and run, his footsteps ringing through the cabin and followed by the sound of a door being slammed.

She looked towards Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair, the former staring at his crewmate as the navigator's expression once again grew contemplative.

"The wind's cold…"

Ms. Orange Hair slowly turned towards the hatch.

"The air feel's dry…and there are clouds coming in."

There was some kind of intensity lying within Ms. Orange Hairs words. Even with her voice raspy and weak, the navigator's tone held a gravity that she had heard before. It was the same kind of solemnness that would accompany Mr. 3's words when they were going on an actually difficult mission.

As in, when they were about to get thrown into a God-awful situation.

Ms. Orange Hair continued to stare at the hatch for a few more seconds, more gusts of cold wind blowing into the room. And then, she spoke two simple words.

"Oh, shit!"

She could almost see Ms. Orange Hair's wide eyes. And not even a second later, she ran past Roronoa and towards the stairs.

"Hey, wait, what's wrong?!"

Ms. Orange Hair did not respond to Roronoa, she only raced to the top of the steps. But about halfway up, the navigator abruptly stopped as she coughed violently, clutching the side of her temples with one hand.

Alright,  _now_ she'd escape. Ms. Orange Hair was distracted by her pain, Roronoa was staring at the navigator with a concerned expression, and Mr. Tengu had just left meaning there wouldn't even be a guard above deck. She just had to move now before something else happened that prevented her from escaping. All she had to do was grab her smoke bomb and match and then she could get-.

…Wait.

Roronoa's  _what?_

Ms. Orange Hair's coughing continued to echo throughout the room as she stared at Roronoa. At the bastard, demon, obviously bloodthirsty pirate, who was looking  _very_ concerned for the navigator. Even though the only thing he did with her was argue. Even though he seemed to tolerate at best every person on this ship—even his own captain—and had never seemed to care about anyone, least of all Ms. Orange Hair. She had thought that the only reason Roronoa wanted Ms. Orange Hair to leave the room was so that he could slice into her skin with his swords alone.

But no, that wasn't the case; no, this pirate instead, actually wanted Ms. Orange Hair to rest. Because he was worried about her.

Roronoa. Felt worried for someone. Worried. This pirate, who would not hesitate to gut her and would enjoy her scream, who was a sadistic  _monster_ by his own admission and would torture her for no other reason than because he  _felt like it_ -.

Stop. Stop…thinking about… _him._ He wasn't here. He wasn't-.

"Nami-."

Roronoa never finished. Because just as he started to speak, the ship was shaken right down to its keel and the wind in the room turned into gales. The room lurched so badly it was like it had been flipped upside down before quickly returning to normal, and she once again hit her head on the wall before she even had a chance to react.

But, in the few seconds before an agonizing headache erupted from the center of her forehead, she watched.

As the various items from the shelves on the wall fell to the floor with a crash.

As the bookcase and desk—even though Mr. Tengu had bolted them down even more than they already were after the Sea King attack—hit the ground hard enough to leave cracks on the floor, scattering books and charts everywhere.

As Roronoa slammed into the wall with his sides.

And as Ms. Orange Hair was sent hurtling towards the wall behind her—the back of the sick navigator's head hitting it hard—before she stumbled forward; right over the edge of the step she stood on.

And right towards the fallen desk head-first.

**_Report 005: Complete_ **


	6. Goldenweek's Report 006: Reality

After being on the Grand Line for five years, Miss Goldenweek had learned that certain sounds here were incredibly common. Such as the sound of cannons shooting off somewhere in the distance. The sound of the calm ocean suddenly turning violent as massive waves reduced ships to broken pieces of wood.

And the sound of heads being crushed on hard surfaces. That sound was one of the most common on the Grand Line. Over and over again, she heard it; the brittle snap of a skull breaking, the gush of blood bursting from someone's skin, and the last, shrill gasp leaving a person's mouth an instant before their death.

And while she did not hear any dying breaths, she did hear a loud scraping sound. She heard something crashing to the floor, followed by a cry of agony.

And then she heard a shocked scream.

"Nami!"

Boots quickly stomped along the ground. Slowly, she pushed off the wall her head had slammed into with her right hand, and then turned towards the stairs. She saw Roronoa resting on one knee a few feet to the left of Ms. Orange Hair as he stared at the navigator's face. Ms. Orange Hair had a hand on her left temple as she convulsed on the ground, painful shouts escaping her mouth.

And she saw a deep gash on Ms. Orange Hair's head. The navigator had a hand pressed against the large wound, but it only somewhat covered the gash as blood leaked from underneath it. With a glance, she saw that the desk Ms. Orange Hair had been falling towards was now laying on the floor and had thick trails of blood on the edge; Ms. Orange Hair had avoided getting her head caved-in, but she must have scraped her temple during her fall. Turning back, she saw that Ms. Orange Hair had managed to stop writhing on the ground, but was still screaming as more blood gushed from her wound—red blot after red blot dripping down the side of her face and hitting the floor.

Roronoa's head rapidly swiveling left and right as he looked over Ms. Orange Hair; all while letting out curse after curse every second. Roronoa's entire attention was on the navigator.

And not on her.

She glanced towards the gap between her bed and the wall. Her hat had somehow moved below the nail-polish bottle and match, now standing on the floor by its brim while the other two objects were only a few feet above it.

"Zo...Zoro listen-!"

Somehow, Ms. Orange Hair was able to stop screaming long enough to say saying something to Roronoa. But she did not hear what exactly; the winds blowing through the room got stronger as the ship rocked from side to side, deafening all other sounds. And while she could not see Roronoa's face, she did see the swordsman recoil a little in shock as Ms. Orange Hair lips continued to move—whatever Ms. Orange Hair was saying was not good. The navigator suddenly stopped talking as she suddenly started to cough, specks of blood jettisoning from her mouth.

A loud slam suddenly erupted within the intense gales in the room. She turned her head and saw Mr. Dartboard Brow step into the room. The cook's head whirled in every direction, his one visible eye wide as he shouted.

"What happened!? I thought I heard someone-!"

Mr. Dartboard Brow did not finish once he saw Ms. Orange Hair, who was now whimpering in pain and had her eyes closed as she lied on the floor. Mr. Darboard Brow's one eye to widen even further as his jaw dropped in shock, cigarette falling out of his mouth and landing on the ground.

"Nami!"

In less than a second, Mr. Dartboard Brow jumped from the stairs and onto the floor before he sprinted towards Ms. Orange Hair.

"What the hell happened!?"

Mr. Dartboard Brows screams were even louder than the gusts of winds blowing in their room as he arrived at Ms. Orange Hair's side in an instant. He quickly kneeled onto the floor a few feet to the right of Roronoa and looked over Ms. Orange Hair with a frantic expression.

"Cook-!"

"Nami!? Nami, can you hear me!?"

Mr. Dartboard Brow was either not listening or did not hear Roronoa's sudden shout, the cook's eyes still locked onto Ms. Orange Hair's bleeding head wound.

"Damn it Mosshead, how the hell could you let this happen!?"

"Listen to me, damn-!"

Once again, Rornoa was ignored as Mr. Dartboard Brow continued, expression becoming more distraught with each word.

"Crap! She's bleeding way too much! Damn it, where the hell are the-!?"

_"Sanji!"_

With that one immensely loud word, Mr. Dartboard Brow stopped his panicked-filled ranting and whirled his head to face Roronoa. This was the first time she heard Roronoa call Mr. Dartboard Brow by his actual name; and going by the cook's expression, it might have been the first time for him as well.

"There's a hurricane coming!"

Mr. Dartboard Brow blinked before he quickly processed what Roronoa just said, mouth once again agape.

"What!? How do you-!?"

"Nami just told me!"

At the exact moment Roronoa finished, Ms. Orange Hair let out another set of harsh coughs. Both of the Pirates whipped their heads to Ms. Orange Hair as the ship started to rock again.

Considering how much the ship was teetering, and how intense the wind was getting, it was not exactly hard to believe that an actual hurricane would arrive soon. Which meant that these pirates needed to get their ship moving right now. Their navigator was injured and needed treatment, but they couldn't treat her if the ship was destroyed.

And that meant that all of their attention would be on staying alive.

She felt even more gusts whipping through her skin and hair as she stared at the pirates with an emotionless expression.

"Cook, you need to steer the ship to the south and get everyone to lower the sails so we can catch the winds from the port side; so hurry the hell up and get moving!"

She saw Mr. Dartboard Brow look down at Ms. Orange Hair, who still had her eyes closed as she continued to whimper—at least, she thought the navigator did; it was hard to hear with all the wind in the room.

"But what about-!?"

"I'll take care of Nami! You just make sure we don't go flying and get Merry out of the storm!"

Mr. Dartboard Brow looked back at Roronoa and stared at the swordsman for a moment.

And then the cook jumped from the floor while still kneeling and landed on one of the upper-sets of stairs.

"You better keep your damn word, Zoro!"

With that shout, Mr. Dartbaord Brow ran towards the hatch and exited the room in an instant. She turned her head back to Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair and saw that the navigator was shakily pushing herself off the floor with one arm, her other hand still covering her gash. When it looked like the navigator was no longer able to support her own weight and was about to fall back to the floor, Roronoa wrapped an arm around Ms. Orange Hair's back.

"Nami, just stay still."

Roronoa's voice was almost inaudible amidst the raging gales, but she still heard the gentle tone he spoke in as he carefully placed Ms. Orange's body against the nearest wall.

Gentle. Roronoa was being gentle. The bastard  _could_ be gentle. How was that even possi-?

Enough.

Her half-lidded eyes stared at Roronoa as he ripped off a long and thick strand of his shirt from his forearm.

You have other matters to focus on.

Roronoa bundled up his ripped piece of clothing into a ball and pressed right onto Ms. Orange Hair's wound. For a moment she wondered why he wasn't using bandages from the medicine kit Ms. Orange Hair had brought, but with a quick glance around the room she saw that the box had been crushed underneath the navigator's dresser; broken pieces of glass and metal now laid in a small pool of clear liquid.

Her expression remained empty as she let out a small sigh, quickly reviewing everything about her current situation.

A massive storm was coming, of that there was no question, considering the severe gales that were roaring through the ship. All of the Straw Hats, save Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair, were now above deck—there was no way they would not be in a storm like this. Right now, every Straw Hat was either focused on sailing their ship out of harm's way or, in Roronoa's case, tending to the bleeding Ms. Orange Hair.

Which meant that right now would be the perfect time to escape.

With her emotionless eyes still locked on Rorona and Ms. Orange Hair, she slowly inched back.

If she were to wait for a moment when the wind was not so powerful, she should be able to light her match and then ignite her smoke bomb. With smoke suddenly erupting from seemingly nowhere, Roronoa would have no idea what was going on, and in the confusion, she would run up the stairs and out of the room. Then after making sure he could not exit the room, she would go to the bathroom and get everything she needed there. And then she could easily take care of the princess and other pirates on the deck; after that, she would go back and kill Roronoa.

But there would be several risks with that plan. There were no guarantees that she could get the pirates under her control without having to battle them, and if she did fight against the Straw Hats, then there would be no one to man the ship during the storm; and then the ship would certainly either capsize or be destroyed by the hurricane. If she did not act quick enough, then she would only end up causing her own death.

Once she got close enough to the gap, she turned her head and looked down at the match and smoke bomb just a few inches away from her hat.

So, could she take control of the Straw Hats above deck and kill Roronoa quick enough before the storm could destroy the ship?

She glanced at Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair. Roronoa was still pressing his bundle of ripped cloth to the navigator's head, but the cloth was now a deep crimson as more blood dripped from under it.

There were plenty of gambles...

She stared at the objects in the gap as she felt the ship teeter left and right.

One mistake could mean death...

She gave Roronoa and Ms. Orange Hair another quick glance before leaning towards the gap, her right hand reaching for her smoke bomb and match as the winds continued to whirl through the room.

...But that was literally every moment of her life.

With one last glance towards the two pirates who still weren't paying her the slightest bit of attention, she stretched her hand even further. Just a few more inches and she would-.

"MIDGET!"

She froze. Her entire body became ice cold.

Because the way that one word was shouted was immensely familiar to her. The way that the malice within Roronoa's voice permeated throughout the room and demanded her attention was something she heard so many times in her head. The enraged, biting way he pronounced every syllable reminded her of moments she had tried so many times to forget, but never could.

A loud growl echoed in her ears.

And not even a second after that, she felt rage consuming the air in an instant—rage that came from something  _very_ dangerrous—and felt it corner her, leaving her no room to escape. She felt her throat constrict, as if something powerful and  _vicious_  was grabbing it to the point where her windpipes felt crushed. Every inch of her skin suddenly shivered as she felt a pair of eyes glaring at her. Eyes that she knew  _promised_ death.

Eyes that she had seen before.

Slowly, and with her body beginning to tremble, she turned. And what she saw made every attempt of intimidation Rorona had tried on her so far look like pleasant conversations.

Because the deep scowl on his face was enough to make her heart stop beating. The rage she saw blazing within his expression made every ounce of blood flee from her face. Somehow, Roronoa was now twice as terrifying as he had been just before he punched her into the ocean. Even though he hadn't even moved an inch away from Ms. Orange Hair, with just a look from his horrible gaze, he was able to make her squirm—despite how much she hated herself for doing so and how hard she tried not to. He was able to make her remember...remember...

She suddenly saw  _him._ Roronoa was gone and she could only see that  _monster._ Every part of her body suddenly felt like it was on fire, she felt like she was about a second away from vomiting and never stopping, and her back was-!

"What the hell are you doing!?"

It was only because Roronoa's voice wasn't the same as  _his_ that she was able to realize she was on a pirate ship and not back  _there._ But that did not stop the terror that made it impossible to even breathe. She could only tremble as Roronoa took a single step forward.

"You better answer, midget!"

She jolted upright and pressed her back as far as she could against the wall, trembling getting worse.

Another step. And the anger within Rornoa's expression just kept getting bigger.

Stop it. Stop. Panicking!

She tried to stop her shaking. She tried to keep her expression emotionless and stare at the inferno raging within Roronoa's eyes. But no matter how desperately she wanted too, she couldn't kill her terror. She could only tremble like some pathetic little girl—she wasn't even sure how her expression looked right now, but she felt her lips quivering as short, shallow gasps escaped her mouth.

Damn it, stop! You have matched his glares before, and you can do so now!

The voice in her head that usually kept her calm even in her most emotional moments fell on deaf ears as Roronoa took several steps towards her, looking like he was about to rip her to shreds in every painful way possible.

You are better than this, Goldenweek! You are a devil, and devils don't feel at all!

She was actually thankful she couldn't breathe right now. Because that made it impossible for her to start whimpering.

Devil's don't feel, and they don't-!

It was only now that she noticed Ms. Orange Hair wasn't on the floor.

It was only now that she noticed Ms. Orange Hair eas behind Roronoa.

And it was only now that she saw Ms. Orange Hair's grabbing Rorona by the shoulder, turning him around with a quick yank, and then pulling her fist back before punching him so hard in his cheek that his head whipped to the side.

...Huh?

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

The fury in Ms. Orange Hair's scream perfectly matched her enraged expression. The navigator's lips were in a vicious snarl as she glared at the demon.

Huh?

Roronoa's face no longer held any anger or fury, but instead shock. There was a bit of blood dribbling down his lips as he whirled back to face Ms. Orange Hair.

"Nami!? What are you-!?"

Roronoa didn't finish as Ms. Orange Hair grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him towards her; the navigator's eyes were full of fury as she screamed.

"What. In. The. Hell. Is wrong with you!?"

Somehow, the sick, bleeding navigator's voice was louder than the intense winds whirling throughout the ship.

"Do you just like terrorizing kids with your damn ugly face!? Do you just  _get off_ on making every little girl you see want to piss themselves!? Is that why you keep pulling this shit!? Huh!?"

She had never seen Ms. Orange Hair look so furious. Every word the navigator spoke radiated rage she knew Roronoa could feel as the swordsman continued to stare at the navigator, jaw agape.

"Nami, she was reaching-!"

"For her God damn hat!"

What?

She saw Ms. Orange Hair whirl her head towards her right hand and Roronoa followed her gaze. She turned her head.

And she saw she had Bob in a very tight grip, holding it right above the gap in her bed. She didn't even know when the hell she grabbed it.

But she wasn't about to let it go.

She saw Roronoa's eye widen—just slightly, but she knew what she saw. Roronoa then turned back to face Ms. Orange Hair, and the navigator's grip tightened on the swordsman shirt.

"I thought she was trying to-!"

"No, shut the hell up and listen, you God damn idiotic bastard!"

Even though Ms. Orange was about a head shorter than Roronoa, the navigator somehow loomed over the swordsman as pure hatred engulfed her voice.

"This is the last time I'm going to say this, Roronoa Zoro!"

Ms. Orange Hair's right hand stopped gripping Roronoa's shirt before she pointed it towards her; the navigator's eyes were still burning with anger as she never once looked away from Roronoa.

"I don't care if that kid tried to kill us; I don't care if you and Vivi think she's a damn psychopath! What I do care about is you  _constantly_ doing your best to scare a  _little girl_  when she hasn't done anything to us in the last week! You shouldn't be acting like a defenseless  _little girl_ is somehow deadlier than every fully grown pirate or Marine or mercenary we've faced in this damn hellhole of an ocean! You shouldn't be treating a  _little girl_ like you're about to  _stab her_  in the face just because you  _think_ she's trying to kill us!"

She didn't think it was possible for Ms. Orange Hair to get angrier, but the navigator somehow pulled it off. Ms. Orange Hair's glare radiated a sweltering heat she could feel all the way from her bed. The navigator's expression was absolutely murderous, maybe even as much as Rorona's had been just a few moments ago, and the hatred lining her face all but begged the swordsman to disagree with her. Because that way, she could stop holding back, and could release every bit of fury on this poor demon.

Roronoa was dead silent as Ms. Orange Hair pulled him closer, their heads almost touching. And while she could no longer see his face, she was sure that the man that had terrified her a moment ago was currently sweating gallons worth of water as the glare from the much smaller, bleeding, and weaker navigator frightened him right to his soul.

"This _little_   _girl_ is not some heartless monster, so stop treating her like one!"

When she finished, Ms. Orange Hair was panting. The flush on her face had gotten redder, and her legs were visibly shaking. But despite how exhausted Ms. Orange Hair was, the rage in her expression didn't fade in the slightest—it just kept growing with every moment as even the wind became quiet. Roronoa didn't move as he could only stare at Ms. Orange Hair.

Just like her. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the navigator, and she didn't even bother trying to hide the shock spreading throughout her face.

"Why..."

Ms. Orange Hair voice was low and raspy now as her shaking got worse. But there was no way she could miss the lethal edge in that one word as the navigator let out a small growl.

"Why...can't you understand? She didn't...ask for this."

She saw Ms. Orange Hair's eyes become hazy, the flush on her face growing.

"She didn't ask...to be that fucker's damn..."

Ms. Orange Hair suddenly let go of Roronoa as she collapsed forward. Roronoa quickly caught the navigator by her stomach as the navigator let out a shuddering gasp.

"Theif..."

She almost didn't hear that last word.

She could now see Roronoa's expression as he looked down at the navigator, whose eyes were now closed as her breathing became erratic. There was concern within the swordsman's expression, along with a bit of shock. Roronoa slowly glanced towards her—her body tensing as he stared at her—before he looked back at the navigator, lips twisting into a large frown as he wiped away the blood on his mouth with his other arm.

"Shit."

With that mutter, Roronoa carefully lifted Ms. Orange Hair up from her feet and carried her in his arms.

"Get off the bed."

Roronoa still looked at Ms. Orange Hair's bleeding head wound, but it didn't take a genius to know who he was ordering. And in an instant, she put her hat on top of her head and jumped off the bed before running towards the fallen dresser to her left—careful not to step on any pieces of broken glass or porcelain scattered along the floor.

"Don't move."

She stood perfectly still. Roronoa gave her another glance before rushing towards the bed, gently placing Ms. Orange Hair's head on top of the pillow; Once Ms. Orange Hair was fully resting on the mattress, Roronoa scowled.

"You're gonna be okay, Nami. You're gonna be okay."

Roronoana words were meant to assure himself and not Ms. Orange Hair—who was still either unconscious from blood loss or exhaustion. There was fear slithering within his face, but with a shake of his head, it was gone as Roronoa kneeled by the bed and ripped off another strand of clothing from his arm.

All while she stared at the bleeding navigator. The navigator that had yelled at Roronoa, punched him right in his face...because he scared her.

She tried to kill her emotions, but the shock within her was far too powerful, her black eyes still wide. And a moment later, she blinked. Then she blinked twice. Then three times.

Because what the  _hell?_ Why...why would Ms. Orange Hair do that? Why would she...defend her. There was no reason for Ms. Orange Hair to continue acting like she was concerned for her well-being, so...why the hell did she look and sound so furious at what she thought Roronoa might do to her? Why would a pirate pretend to be almost... _protective_ of an enemy that had tried to kill her and the rest of their crew, for no reason?

It was almost like...like...Ms. Orange Hair really  _was_ furious at Roronoa. All because of her.

She couldn't take her eyes off of Ms. Orange Hair as Roronoa tried his best to stop her bleeding with his make-shift rags.

But why would she...why would  _anyone_ ever get so angry...for her. She had never seen something like... _that_  before. She had never seen someone get so pissed off that they would get up from the floor, even while they were bleeding and clearly exhausted, and then punch a bastard in the face just because said bastard terrified her.

She blinked again.

No...that wasn't right. Someone...someone  _had_ done something similar for her.

A long time ago.

She quickly shook her head and killed those thoughts without any mercy. Because the less she thought about  _that,_ the bette-.

The hatch slammed open. She turned her head and saw Straw Hat Luffy running down the stairs.

And behind him was Princess Nefertari. For the first time in a week, she finally saw the princess. Both Nefertari and Straw Hat were dripping with water—espcially the captain—as the salty scent of the sea suddenly hit her nose.

"Nami!? Nami!?"

Straw Hat was shouting as his head whirled around. And once he saw his navigator bleeding on the bed, his eyes went wide.

"Nami!"

Straw Hat immediately jumped down from the stairs and ran towards the bed, arriving in less than a second as he now stood next to Roronoa. Water dripped from every part of Monkey. D Luffy's body, some of it hit hitting Roronoa, but the swordsman didn't pay it any attention as he continued to press his bundle of clothing onto Ms. Orange Hair's wound—she also saw several other bundles of blood-red clothing scattered along the floor. Bundles she was sure hadn't been there before. And the wind had died down significantly at some point.

Just how long had she been lost in her thoughts and-?

"Zoro, what happened?!"

She saw Rornoa turning to face his frantic captain.

"She fell off the stairs and hit her head."

"What!?"

It wasn't Straw Hat that shouted, but instead the princess. Turning, she saw Nefertari rushing down the steps, expression full of worry.

"Is she alright!?"

When Princess Nefertari reached the bottom of the steps, she saw Roronoa's mouth move into a deep frown.

"Not even close."

The worry in the princess' expression grew as Straw Hat whirled his head towards his subordinate.

"What?! Why!?"

"Because she's losing too much blood, Luffy!"

Roronoa was visibly gritting his teeth as he pressed a bit harder against Ms. Orange Hairs wound.

"She's got a seriously bad gash and she just won't stop bleeding!"

A small growl left Rornoa's mouth as the princess arrived a few feet behind the swordsman. Nefertari looked between Ms. Orange Hair and the make-shift rag Roronoa was using to try and stop her bleeding.

"Why are you using a rag!? Get the bandages-!"

"If I could, I would Vivi!"

Roronoa jerked his head towards the crushed box of medicine and glass underneath the dresser. Nefertari turned and saw the destroyed medicine-kit, fear quickly rising within the princess' expression as she turned back to Rornoa.

"But—what about the spare medicine-kit!? That one-!"

"Is empty."

Roronoa's voice was curt as he spoke. And the princess' eyes went wide.

"What!? But Nami said—why would she lie about-!"

Nefertari abruptly stopped talking. Slowly, the princess' head turned towards her, realizing she was still in the room. And the moment Nefertari's eyes settled on her, they shifted into an enraged glare.

By now, she had finally gotten her expression under control—she wouldn't let anyone on this ship see her so weak again. Any thoughts about Ms. Orange Hair's actions and...strange words, had died a quick and painful death; she was now focused only on the situation. Her eyes were once again hollow as she stared at the princess, whose lips were in a snarl.

"Oh,  _you-!"_

"Vivi!"

Roronoa's sudden shout cut the princess off. Nefertari whirled her head towards Roronoa, her severe glare now on the swordsman.

"What-!"

"We've got bigger things to worry about right now!"

Roronoa quickly nudged his head towards Ms. Orange Hair, who was looked a bit paler than she had a moment ago. Nefetari's eyes widened; the princess then gave her one last glance from the corner of her eye before she took a few steps towards Roronoa, letting out a long breath to calm herself down.

"You-you're right."

"Where's everyone else?"

Roronoa glanced at the hatch.

"Did we get out of the hurricane alright?"

"Yeah, we did."

Straw Hat spoke up, and Rorona turned to stare at his captain's blank expression as he continued.

"But Merry's still in danger."

"Why? What's going on?"

It was Nefertari that responded to Rorona's questions.

"There are even more storms coming. My navigation and weather skills aren't that good, but even I can tell that right now will be the  _only_ break we have before we encounter  _incredibly_ violent storms. We told everyone else to start preparing while we checked on you and Nami."

The ship suddenly started to lurch from side to side—she had to make sure not to lose her balance or else fall onto a bunch of glass. Once the shaking stopped, the princess and the two pirates looked up towards the ceiling, gusts of wind starting to blow throughout the room.

"But we don't have that much time. We need to figure out how to treat Nami right now."

Nefertari glanced at Straw Hat and then Roronoa.

"Who on the ship knows the most about medicine."

"Nami."

She had never heard Straw hat's voice sound so quiet before. She saw the captain clenching his teeth as he looked down at Ms. Orange Hair's bleeding wound, hands balled into fists.

There was fear in Nefertari's expression.

"O...Okay. Then, aside from Nami, who else has experience with medicine?"

"No one."

"What!"

The fear within Nefertari's expression grew. The princess then whirled her head from Straw Hat to Roronoa.

"No one!? No one else on the ship knows  _anything_ about medicine!?"

Roronoa scowled as he threw away the now blood-soaked bundle of clothing in his hands before reaching for another, quickly pressing it onto Ms. Orange Hair's still bleeding wound. And Monkey D. Luffy slowly turned to face Nefertari, expression solemn.

"Sanji knows how to help with burns and broken bones, Usopp knows how to get rid of tiny cuts and bruises, and I know how to put back bones if they move out of place. But I don't think any of that is gonna help right now."

Straw Hat looked towards Ms. Orange Hair's head.

"Not if it's this bad."

Straw Hat bit his lip, concern spreading throughout his face. And Nefertari looked at Roronoa with frantic eyes.

"Zoro?"

"I know how to close wounds-."

"Then you-!"

"-with a red-hot blade and rum."

Any hope that Nefertari had left quickly died at Roronoa's words.

"And I'm sure as hell not doing that when Nami's like this. She'd probably die from the pain. Do you know anything, Vivi?"

"I...If we had gauzes or antiseptics then I could do something. But without those things, I don't..."

Roronoa's scowl got deeper.

"Fuck."

The princess and captain agreed with Roronoa's sentiment. She could see each and every person in the room were growing increasingly worried about their navigator—even Roronoa's scowls had anxiety creeping within them. They all knew how bad this situation was, and just how much worse it could get.

Her expression was emotionless as she stared at Ms. Orange Hair.

The navigator was going to die. Since the Straw Hat's did not have a doctor, they did not know how to help Ms. Orange Hair. And another storm was quickly approaching.

"I..."

Nefertari Vivi looked at the other Straw Hat's, voice breaking.

If the Straw Hat's were going to do something, they needed to make a decision now.

"No one on the ship knows  _any way_ to help Nami?"

Only silence and immensely frustrated looks were the only responses to the princess' words.

"Damn it!"

Nefertari Vivi clenched her eyes shut, fingers digging into the palm of her hand.

And it was at that moment she spoke two simple words.

"I do."

Her voice was as soft as it always was, but to the pirates and princess, she might as well had been screaming. Every person in the room immediately turned around to face her.

"What?"

She turned her head and saw Rornoa looking at her with narrowed, and somewhat fierce, eyes.

She let out a small breath before she spoke again.

"I know how to treat wounds. I can probably help your navigator."

"Really!?"

Straw Hat's eyes went wide, the worry and frustration vanishing in an instant.

"You can-!"

"Don't you dare even try that!"

Nefertari interrupted Straw Hat with a shout. The princess was now glaring at her, expression full of anger as she stepped forward.

"How stupid do you think we are!?"

Honestly, pretty stupid.

"Do you honestly think we're going to let you anywhere near our friend!? Do you think we're going to trust anything that comes out of that deceitful little mouth of-!"

The ship started to rock again, even more violently than before as the wind in the room became stronger; everyone in the room had to fight to keep their balance. When the ship stopped shaking, the princess once again glared at her, rage contorting every inch of her regal face.

"I am not going to let you hurt my friends, so you can take your lies and go right to hell!"

She did not blink at the hatred consuming the princess' every word. Her expression remained emotionless, eyes perfectly hollow as she stared right at Nefertari Vivi's furious face.

Because she was back in control.

And she had a job to do.

"An hour at most."

Her soft words were just audible enough for the princess—and the pirates who she knew were still staring at her—to hear, even with the swirling winds blowing through the room.

"What?"

Amidst the rage within Neferati Vivi's glare, she saw a hint of confusion.

"What does that-?"

"That is how long your navigator has to live."

The certainty within her voice made the princess' eyes widen. With a glance, she saw worry flicker across Rornoa's impassive expression and saw Straw Hat's eyes go even wider than the princess'.

"What!?"

Straw Hat's shout echoed throughout the room, voicing the princess and Rorona's thoughts as they just chose to instead stare at her. Slowly, she turned to face the captain with black eyes that held nothing.

"Your navigator has and continues to lose large amounts of blood. In addition to that, she is also sick. Her immune system is busy dealing with whatever virus is inside her and is making her body especially weak, meaning that the chance for infection is high."

As she spoke in her icy drawl, she saw everyone in the room become immensely tense as they looked at Ms. Orange Hair—who was still bleeding from her head, and was still soaking the rags Roronoa was using crimson.

"If you do not properly treat her wound, Ms. Orange Hair will die."

She stared at Nefertari Vivi as the princess turned back to face her. The anger within Nefertari's expression was still there, but now there was also fear—just a touch, and it was obvious the princess was trying to hide it, but she could still see it.

"So, let me say this as clearly as I can. You need my help if you don't want your navigator to become a corpse."

"And why exactly do you want to 'help!?'"

Nefertari was shouting again, and there was now sarcasm along with the anger in her voice.

"Did you suddenly grow an actual heart while I wasn't looking? Do you seriously expect me to believe that you care about Nami enough to want to save her life!?"

"Whether I care about your navigator or not is irrelevant, princess."

Before Nefertari could shout again, she continued.

"Because all you need to know is that I do not want to die."

With those quiet yet firm words, the princess narrowed her eyes, confusion rising within Nefertari's expression.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said: I do not want to die."

She turned so that she was facing every person in the room.

"Ms. Orange Hair is your navigator. And from sounds of it, no one else on this ship has the skills to match her own."

"What does that-?"

"In the Grand Line, mediocrity will not do. If I do not help you save Ms. Orange Hair's life, it is incredibly likely that the destructive weather here will eventually kill us all."

Her hollow expression had not changed in the slightest as she looked right into the princess' eyes.

"So, ensuring that your navigator does not die ensures that I do not. Because if you sail this ship with anything less than a master navigator, we will be lucky to make it even halfway to Alabasta before we sink to the bottom of the sea."

When she finished, the only sound in the room was the wind—which was getting progressively stronger. The rage within the princess' eyes slowly died as she grit her teeth. There was bitterness in Nefertari's expression now; the kind of bitterness that told her that Nefertari Vivi  _very_ reluctantly admitted to herself that, yes, she was not lying.

And with the most stubborn member in the room convinced, all that was left was-.

"How exactly can you help Nami with a broken wrist?"

She turned and stared at Rorona; the swordsman wasn't quite glaring at her, but his eyes were as hard as steel while he still tried his best to stop Ms. Orange Hair's bleeding.

She let out a long breath before she spoke.

"Obviously, I will need help. Which is why-."

She turned her head towards Straw Hat, whose expression was completely blank as he stared right at her empty eyes.

"-I think it would be best if your captain assisted me."

For multiple reasons.

"The rest of you can deal with making sure the ship does not capsize."

Straw Hat said nothing; he only turned away from her and stared at his navigator.

"Why do you specifically need Luffy?"

She turned to look at the princess and saw the steadily rising suspicion within her eyes.

"Because if your navigator starts to have panic attacks while I try to treat her, I'll need some way to safely restrain her. And only Monkey D. Luffy's rubber body can accomplish that with ease."

"Do you even know anything about medicine?"

"Mr. 3 taught me enough where I can confidently say that I can close Ms. Orange Hair's wound with no issues and make sure she does not get an infection; provided I have help and you give me the materials I need. I might not be able to get her fever under control, but I can stabilize her."

The princess' eyes narrowed, and there was still some suspicion within her eyes. For less than a second, she felt the urge to roll her eyes, but she killed it instantly.

"Once again, I am in as much danger as the rest of you. Also, you may want to make a decision quickly."

It was at that moment that the ship began to rock—far more violently than it had before. Once the rocking stopped, she looked around and saw the Straw Hats and the princess staring at one another.

"Luffy..."

Nefertari did not finish; the princess' expression had become uncomfortable as Nefertari glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

"What do you want to do, captain?"

Roronoa slowly turned towards Ms. Orange Hair as he spoke.

All while Straw Hat stared at her expression that held no emotion whatsoever. Once again, she was looking at the man who had taken down her partner. The man whose eyes were colder than ice as he looked down at her.

The man who could kill her without even blinking if he wanted to.

For a few moments, she matched Straw Hat's unfeeling gaze with her own. The ship was starting rock again, the winds getting even more violent, but Straw Hat still stared at her with his unblinking, tiny black irises.

And then he spoke.

"You can save Nami?"

"If you give me everything I need, then yes."

Even though Straw Hat's voice was glacial, an almost ruthless look now present in his expression as his eyes narrowed, she answered with an empty expression.

And as the winds continued to blow through the ship, Straw Hat finally spoke.

"Zoro, Vivi, get this kid whatever she needs."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Roronoa nod his head—and with a slightly hesitant expression, Nefertari did the same.

"We're gonna save Nami."

The captain's voice made it sound like he was stating a fact, like there was no other possible outcome. Straw Hat continued to stare at her with his blank face, waiting for her to respond in some way.

So, she slowly nodded her head. After all, she was, in fact, going to try and save Ms. Orange Hair.

Because, with her first plan now in ruins, treating Ms. Orange Hair provided another way for her to take out these pirates.

* * *

Miss Goldenweek would like to note that trying to stop someone from bleeding out without any actual medical supplies was ridiculously tiring.

First, she had to instruct Roronoa and Princess Nefertari to bring her a list of materials she needed as quickly as they could before the storm truly began. Some things they had, other things she had to make some substitutions, but they did bring her the most important objects needed to save their navigator.

And also, allow her to take over their ship.

Roronoa and the princess had placed the materials on a long, silver tray and set it on top of a stool. And after they left her—the princess glaring at her as she did so—she let out a sigh and had gone to work.

Folding a towel around a large bag of ice, she had Monkey D. Luffy press it against Ms. Orange Hair's bleeding wound. For a wound this large, one needed something that was thick enough to absorb as much blood as possible, and could also have a lot of pressure put on it without risk of harming the victim. And the ice in the towel helped constrict the blood vessels in the wound, slowing down the flow of blood and encouraging clotting.

Of course, the towel had quickly become soaked with blood, but instead of removing it, she had pinned it and the bag of ice inside it with a strip of duct tape; this way, more pressure was added to the wound, and the skin around it would tighten, making the clotting process go even faster.

Twelve minutes later, after she and Straw Hat had duck taped two more towels onto Ms. Orange Hair because her blood had thoroughly soaked them, the top-most towel had suddenly stopped turning red, and she had Straw Hat remove them and take off the duct tape—the adhesive had not gotten too attached to the navigator's skin, so there was barely even a mark left when they took it off. And she saw that Ms. Orange Hair's wound was barely even bleeding.

But she was not done. She then had to properly close Ms. Orange Hair's wound. So, she picked up a pair of tweezers that had been sitting in a cup full of the strongest alcohol they had on board. When she had seen Ms. Orange Hair crash onto the desk, she realized that the navigator had most likely gotten some jagged pieces of wood lodged within her wound. And while it was hard to see amidst the small amount of blood dripping from the wound, she had the eyes of a painter. Not even the smallest details escaped her gaze, and she easily saw the splinters of wood within the wound.

After removing all of the splinters—twenty-seven in total—she then had Straw Hat pass her a glass of water mixed with salt and a bit of baking soda that had been burning on a small, portable burner; creating a saline solution perfect for cleaning wounds. She had slowly poured the liquid down Ms. Orange Hairs wound, rinsing away as much bacteria and blood within it as she could.

She then had Straw Hat pass her another jar, this one full of honey, and held a small honey wand above Ms. Orange Hair's wound and slowly dripped honey into it; honey was a natural antibiotic, so it should help prevent the navigator's wound in its recovery. She then grabbed a curved needle, heated it with Mr. Dartboard Brows lighter before dripping it in alcohol, and then had Straw Hat hold Ms. Orange Hair's skin in place while she sewed it back together—the thread having been made of one of Mr. Dartbaord Brows shirts; it was the cleanest piece of clothing on the ship, apparently.

And then, when she had made one last loop through both edges of the gash—all with one hand—and the square knot at the end of the thread locked in place once the skin came back together, she had finished cleaning and closing Ms. Orange Hair's wound.

And she had been so glad to finally be done with such a cumbersome task.

"So, is Nami okay now?"

From her spot on her stool the princess had brought her—and after sitting in the same place for twenty-nine minutes, it was starting to get uncomfortable—she turned to face Straw Hat. The captain had been crouching a few feet away from her once she finally finished, a worried expression on his face as he stared at his navigator.

"She is stable."

Straw Hat turned his head towards her, confusion within his eyes as he spoke.

"What does that mean?"

Really?

"It means that her wound won't get worse."

"So, she's better?"

"No. She is still very sick. I was able to make sure that she won't bleed out or get an infection-."

Probably.

"-but she still has a very high fever. I am not sure what exactly is wrong with Ms. Orange Hair, but I do know this..."

She trailed off as she looked away from Straw Hat and towards Ms. Orange Hair. Around the bed the navigator lied on, there were several bloody towels and deep red stains scattered everywhere on the mattress; and in the middle of all the mess, Ms. Orange Hair slept with a deep red flush.

There was also the jar full of honey on the bed, the top of the wand peaking just over the tip of the glass and dripping yellow.

"You will need to get her to a doctor soon. I stabilized her for now, but she will continue to get worse until she gets actual treatment."

Straw Hat said nothing. And when she turned around, she saw his fists clenched at his sides as he stared at Ms. Orange Hair.

"Shit."

There was anger in Straw Hat's voice, lips moving into a scowl.

"This ain't good."

For them, anyway. For her, this situation was perfect.

The ship suddenly lurched. The room teetered from side to side, and she had to grab onto her chair as it slid on the floor; the tray full of materials on the other stool almost fell off, but Straw Hat caught it with his stretched out arms just in time.

The ship was still in the storm. While she had treated Ms. Orange Hair, several times the ship felt like it was being attacked by another Sea King as every part of the room trembled. Thankfully, the ship was not lurching nearly as much as it had before, which meant that they had gotten through the worst of it. It should not take that much longer before they completely sailed out of the storm.

She grabbed her stool by its seat and slid it forward, now near the edge of the bed. With a glance, she saw Straw Hat had turned his head to stare at the hatch. The captain wanted to go up and help his subordinates, but he could not. Because there was no way he was going to leave his navigator alone with her; Straw Hat might have been an idiot, but even he was not dumb enough to leave her alone with his helpless navigator.

The man truly cared about his crew, and he made that immensely clear to her. As she had patched Ms. Orange Hair's wound, Straw Hat had watched her. She never once turned around, never once actually saw him staring at her, but she knew. While she had removed splinters and sewn the gash on the navigator's head, Straw Hat looked down at her with an emotionless expression.

All while she felt the same intensity Straw Hat had radiated when she first talked to the captain alone. She had felt that same imposing presence the man could turn off and on again like a switch suffusing the air and making it heavy. And as she continued to treat Ms. Orange Hair, the voice within her head repeated the same thing over and over again.

If she tried to purposely hurt Ms. Orange Hair, Straw Hat would know, and would kill her.

She had not been scared—not like with Roronoa. She had control over herself, and she would never lose it again in front of these pirates. She had just continued to treat Ms. Orange Hair and ignore the cold eyes locked onto her.

Besides, there had been no point in trying to kill Ms. Orange Hair. Not when she already had a plan.

She slowly reached forward with her right hand towards the jar full of honey.

Not when she could now take down these pirates with ease now.

Once she was within reach, she grabbed the honey wand and took it out of the jar, thick splotches of yellow falling off the end and onto the floor.

All because these pirates brought her honey.

She brought the wand up to her face.

Drippy, thick, bright yellow honey that would make the perfect Colors Trap.

She slowly put the wand into her mouth, and she felt the smooth, rich, oh-so-sweet honey wrap around her tongue.

Her powers did not  _just_  work with paint. Any liquid that had a defined color, enough mass and was at least somewaht gelatinous, she could use it to make her Colors Trap. And honey met all of the criteria. As well as all the various cleaning and cosmetic supplies in the bathroom above her.

It was why she had made sure Straw Hat was the one with her and not Roronoa. Why she had "accidentally" fell off her chair before she started treating Ms. Orange Hair and picked up one of the many objects scattered along the floor and put in her pocket.

Every action she had made since she first spoke up to the princes had been to ensure she could successfully escape from these pirates.

"How long do we have?"

With the wand sticking out of her mouth like a lollipop, she looked at Straw Hat and saw him staring at her with a frown.

"You said she's getting worse. So, how long do we have before she gets too sick?"

And then die. While Straw Hat did not say those words, his voice and expression did it for him; the man was fully aware just how much danger Ms. Orange Hair's life was in.

She took the honey wand out of her mouth with her right hand.

"At most, three days."

Her bland response made Straw Hat's frown get deeper.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

She looked back at Ms. Orange Hair's red face, soft huffs escaping the navigator's lips as she slept.

"And that's only if new complications do not arise with Ms. Orange Hair."

Straw Hat did not respond, and silence quickly overtook the room. She dipped the honey wand in the jar and twirled it, wrapping as much honey as she could around the wand before placing it back in her mouth. The steady rocking of the ship had died down even further, which meant that the ship was almost out of the storm.

Just a little bit more. The only reason Straw Hat was not already laughing hysterically was because one, she wanted to have a snack before having to go to work—honey was no Senbei, but it would do for now. And two, she wanted to make sure that the ship was completely out of the storm before she hypnotized these pirates; that way, she would not have to order them around in a hurry after she took over the ship and instead take her time commanding these morons. Well, except for Roronoa, but there were plenty of ways she could kill that bastard once she got out of here and-.

"Why do you call her that?"

Damn it. She had been enjoying the silence.

Slowly, she took the wand out of her mouth again as she turned to face Straw Hat.

"Call who what?"

"Why do you call Nami that nickname?"

Straw Hat stared right at her hollow eyes; it was obvious the captain was talking just so he could do anything else other than worry about his navigator. And while her expression was emotionless, she had to kill the irritation that rose at Straw Hat's words.

It was not a "nickname." "Ms. Orange Hair" was just a moniker for one of her targets. Not every Straw Hat had a bounty or reputation—such as Rornoa's, who was apparently one of the best swordsmen in the east blue—so she had come up with simple, short titles for the ones that did not.

"Nicknames" were something a child did.

"It's accurate."

Her words were soft and held no emotion.

"She has orange hair, so I call her Ms. Orange Hair."

Straw Hat frowned.

"Why don't you call her by her name?"

Because what kind of assassin would ever refer to her targets by their actual names instead of their monikers?

"I just feel like it."

"Is that why you call Usopp a Tengu?"

"Yes."

"He really hates it when you call him that."

She knew that.

She said nothing as she stared at Straw Hat with emotionless black eyes. She hoped Straw Hat would realize she did not want to talk anymore and would-.

"I think she'd like it."

Never mind.

Straw Hat turned towards Ms. Orange Hair.

"She'd probably think it was nice that you came up with a nickname for her."

It wasn't a damn nickname.

She still said nothing. Straw Hat slowly looked back at the stairs, but he did not move. She had expected him to talk more, but thankfully, the man kept his mouth shut. Once again, there was only silence in the room as she scooped up another batch of honey and placed it in her mouth. Mr. Dartboard Brow really knew how to pick out good honey.

After a few minutes, the ship's rocking had all but stopped. Every now and then there was particularly bad lurch, but it was obvious that the ship was almost out of the storm.

So, she should probably begin her plan.

She stared at Ms. Orange Hair for a moment. While she had been treating the navigator, despite trying her best not to, she had...thought back to what Ms. Orange Hair had done for her. Several times, in fact. She was still..confused about why Ms. Orange Hair did that. And why wouldn't she be? While bleeding heavily and in horrible shape, an enemy pirate had just protected her for seemingly no reason or ulterior motives. It just didn't make any sense no matter how hard she thought about it.

She was Ms. Orange Hair's prisoner, so why would the navigator want to  _protect-?_

She slaughtered those thoughts. She then slowly took out the honey wand before letting out a sigh.

It did not matter. The reason did not matter. It was probably just some trick or something—even though that made no sense either. She was about to take over there ship, so it did not matter why Ms. Orange Hair had acted the way she did.

It did not matter. So there was no reason to wait any longer.

She slowly dipped the honey wand back into the jar.

"Nami really likes talking with you, you know."

She resisted the impulse to stiffen at Straw Hat's sudden words. With her honey wand and hand still in the jar, she turned around.

Straw Hat was looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Like, a lot. Even if all you say is one word, Nami gets pretty happy."

She stared at Straw Hat with eyes that held nothing.

"Is that so?"

The only reason she responded was because she knew Straw Hat was waiting for one. And considering what she was about to do, she decided to keep him distracted by actually engaging back. But she had no idea why Straw Hat was telling her such obvious lies.

"Yeah."

With the same emotionless eyes, Straw Hat nodded as he continued.

"Nami's always liked kids, but you're different."

"How interesting."

She was still facing Straw Hat as she lifted the honey wand from the jar.

"How exactly am I different?"

She saw that Straw hat had yet to blink.

"Because with regular kids, Nami just likes 'em."

She had taken out the honey wand, and from the corner of her eye, she could see it dripping with bright yellow as she brought it closer.

In just a few seconds, she would have Straw Hat under her control, and then-.

"But with you? Nami just really loves you."

Every thought within her head came to a crash.

She stared.

She suddenly couldn't move a muscle, frozen and unable to do anything as one word repeated over and over again in her mind.

She continued to stare. And then, she dropped the honey wand, not even giving it a glance as she heard it crash against the floor.

She had no damn idea how long she stared at Straw Hat's small, black irises. All she knew was that it took an agonizing amount of effort to get her mouth working again before she could speak just one word.

"What?"

She felt the shock penetrating her face. She heard the disbelief now embedded throughout her voice. And she could do nothing to stop those emotions and so many more from showing.

Because...because...

She blinked several times as she tried to get the words out of her mouth.

"She...she lo—what? _"_

Her eyes were wide now as she stared at Straw Hat.

The captain tilted his head slightly before he spoke, expression still blank.

"Huh. You really didn't know. Wasn't really sure, but I guess I was right this time."

What!? Why the hell would she  _ever_ think that someone—that someone actually—!

Control yourself, damn it!

It was only because of the voice that she could regain some of her senses. But she still had to actually fight to get her expression back into its usual emotionless state.

It was just a lie. Just another, ridiculous, asinine, lie. Why the hell Straw Hat was telling her such an obvious lie, she didn't know. After all, how could she possibly believe that some pirate actually—.

"I mean, I thought it was kinda obvious that she loves you, kid."

That was a lie. You know it's a lie, so just ignore him and—!

"How?"

Before she could stop herself, that somewhat shaky word left her lips.

Damn it!

Straw Hat's lips were now in a confused frown.

"How what?"

Don't—!

"How was it obvious?"

She shouldn't even be talking. She shouldn't let Straw Hat think she actually believed such blatant bullshit. So why in the hell was she even talking right now!?

There was even more confusion in Straw Hat's expression.

"I mean...she gave you her oranges. Her oranges!"

Straw Hat said that like it somehow explained everything.

It didn't. Not in the slightest.

"But besides that..."

Straw Hat trailed off. And she hated that she actually found herself wanting the dumbass to hurry up and finish. But she shouldn't be feeling like that. She shouldn't be feeling  _anything!_ So why was she even giving Straw Hat's words any attention at all? She knew that what he said was just a stupid, absolutely crazy lie, and there was no way she would ever possibly believe—!

"I think you kinda remind Nami of, well, herself."

What!?

She felt her jaw drop slightly as her eyes widened even further.

"I...remind her of... _what?"_

Straw Hat was confused again as he blinked, tilting his head to the right.

"Your ears okay? I just told you what. You remind Nami of herself when she was a kid too."

"How?"

Shut up.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's 'cause of your job."

"Why?"

Shut up.

"Well..."

Straw Hat glanced at Ms. Orange Hair, and she did the same.

"...I think it'd be better coming from Nami. When she gets better, you can ask her."

She was just about to speak again; just about to rip her hair out at the lack of answers she was getting from this dumbass. Just about to demand Straw Hat tell her what the hell he meant by saying there was someone else in this world who was like  _her._

But the voice in her head—the voice that had been with her throughout her career as an assassin and always reminded her when she was being a fool—suddenly shouted.

Shut! up!

She clamped her mouth shut.

You are being an idiot! Straw Hat is tricking you, and you know this! There is no reason to feel; no reason to believe his lies!

She tried to force her expression to become emotionless again.

These people are your enemies!

She tried to kill the emotions within her.

Ms. Orange Hair is your enemy!

But...

She's just another target!

But...

For some reason, she couldn't look away from Ms. Orange Hair's sleeping form. Her body was locked in place, and with a twitching expression, she stared right at Ms. Orange Hair's very flushed and somewhat pained face.

You—you are not an idiot, Goldenweek! When has Ms. Orange Hair ever acted like she actually—!

She suddenly saw Ms. Orange Hair, expression full of rage, glaring at Roronoa just because he scared her.

She saw Ms. Orange Hair gently wrapping bandages over her wounds.

And then...she saw her smile.

A big, kind smile that, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see any deceit in it whatsoever.

It was a smile that reminded her of someone else. Someone that had...had made her feel...

She felt a sensation in her heart—even though it had been dead for so long. The sensation slowly moved throughout her body as it expanded; it was like when she applied the final drops of color to her painting. The way the paints became more vibrant as they blended with the canvas was just like how the sensation kept getting more noticeable with every flutter through her body.

And for the first time in years, she felt...

Warm.

She stared, and every part of her body felt numb.

The last time she felt warm was with...someone else. Someone that had made her feel important; someone who had made her  _feel._

But that person had died.

She slowly raised her head.

And when that person died, everything became awful.

Her lips moved into a thin line.

Everything had  _hurt._

She let out a sigh.

And after that, Miss Goldenweek had been born.

The very second she remembered who she was, the very moment she realized that horrible,  _disgusting_ feeling was still in her body, she slaughtered it and burned it to God. Damn. Ash.

There was absolutely nothing within her expression—whether it be emotions or even a hint of  _life._ Her face was just as empty as the cold, ruthless void within her.

Because she was a devil.

Devils do not feel.

They do not have mercy.

And most of all, they could not be loved.

And Ms. Orange Hair certainly did not love her.

She glanced at the honey wand on the floor

The only person who did had been from  _before_  and was now dead.

With a glance, she saw that Straw Hat was looking at the ceiling, a contemplative expression on his face.

No one else in the world could  _ever_ love her. Because she was a devil and an assassin.

Slowly, she bent forward, her arm reaching for the floor.

No else could ever love someone like—.

"Yeah...Nami could seriously explain why she loves you a lot better than me."

The moment Straw Hat's words reached her ears, she once again saw Ms. Orange Hair smiling in her mind.

She felt warm again as she flinched.

And then—after she killed that awful feeling—rage rushed throughout her body as she whirled around to face Straw Hat.

And she was glaring; eyes full of hate, lips in a snarl.

Straw Hat eyes ever so slightly widened in surprise.

And then she shouted.

"Stop saying that you God damn-!"

Glass suddenly shattered, and she stopped shouting. She turned around.

And she saw Ms. Orange Hair had gotten up. The navigator had moved closer to the edge and, in the process, knocked over the jar of honey right onto the floor. Ms. Orange Hair's head was lowered, but she could see the navigator panting slightly as her hair covered eyes.

"Nami!"

In an instant, Straw Hat was up on the bed and gently grabbing Ms. Orange Hair's shoulders as he sat on her right side.

"Are you okay?!"

Ms. Orange Hair slowly raised her head, but she did not respond. And with a slight turn, the navigator was now staring at her with a flushed face and exhausted, droopy eyes.

She stared back. And..she was not sure why, but she, for some reason—even though she had killed every emotion within her and left only a void—she wanted Ms. Orange Hair to say something. What she did not know, but...

She just...wanted Ms. Orange Hair to...talk.

There was only silence in the room. Straw Hat was staring at his navigator with concern in his face, and she had on an emotionless expression as she waited for Ms. Orange Hair to speak...

And Ms. Orange Hair only stared.

And stared.

And stared.

Until, without any warning, Ms. Orange Hair's cheeks for some reason puffed out, like they were full of water, and the flush on her face suddenly was overwhelmed with a putrid shade of green and—wait _, no-!_

She couldn't react in time. By the time she realized what was happening, she could only watch with wide, black eyes.

Because Ms. Orange Hair vomited.

Right on the floor—and on top of the honey and honey wand.

Right on her bare legs.

And right. On. Her. Skirt.

When Mrs. Orange Hair finished vomiting, the navigator immediately fell back onto the bed. Straw Hat had started shouting something, but she didn't hear.

She only stared at her legs and skirt.

...Ew.

Her nose wrinkled. And then she brought her right hand to cover her mouth as the  _nasty_ ,  _horrible,_  absolutely  _disgusting_ multi-colored vomit on her body started to smell worse than spoiled milk, burning her nostrils with every second.

Just... _ewwwwwwww!_

* * *

It took every bit of alcohol she had on hand, several towels, the ones that had not been used, and intense scrubbing, but Miss Goldenweek was able to get the vomit off her skirt and legs.

And while she had cleaned herself, the princess and the Straw Hats—with the exception of Mr. Tengu and the duck—had gathered in the room. The ship had gotten out of the storm, and everyone now wanted to know how Ms. Orange Hair was—most of them staring at the stitches on the navigator's head and her incredibly red face. Thankfully, she did not have to speak as Straw Hat did most of the explaining, with her only nodding every now and then when they looked to her to confirm what the captain was saying.

Once Straw Hat had told his crew how long Ms. Orange Hair had before both her injuries and sickness, she had seen the princess scowl—for once not at her, but at the horrible situation she and the Straw Hats were in. They had no navigator, were still at least weeks away from Alabasta, and had no idea where any nearby islands were, so they could not get help.

But as the princess and Straw Hats struggled to figure out how they should proceed, what felt like a strong wave suddenly hit the ship and made almost everyone in the room stumble. And as the pirates and princess wondered what had happened, Mr. Tengu screamed—a very loud, very shrilly scream that nearly deafened her.

Apparently, a pirate ship had "surfaced"—Mr. Tengu's words, not her's; she honestly did not know what he meant by that—right in front of the ship.

And immediately after Mr. Tengu's scream, Straw Hat had immediately ran out of the room. Nefertari watched the captain leave before the princess looked at her, thinking she might have something to do with this—but if the princess was honestly expecting something like Mr. 3 suddenly showing up to rescue her, she might have laughed at the absolutely ridiculous thought if she could feel. The princess then went up the stairs, and as she ran, she told Mr. Dartboard Brow to come up with her while telling Roronoa to say and guard Ms. Orange Hair.

And so, once Mr. Dartboard Brow followed the princess out of the room without any hesitation, she had been left alone with Roronoa.

And even as gunfire and screams rang from the deck, Roronoa had only stood near the stairs with his arms crossed as he alternated from glancing at her and Ms. Orange Hair. He was not even the slightest bit concerned about his crewmates battling some kind of unknown enemy—he was not even concerned when he had to dodge a bullet, jerking his head slightly and effortlessly avoiding getting his brains splattered.

Though, she was not really paying as much attention to Roronoa as she probably should. She was still sitting on her stool only a few feet away from Ms. Orange Hair as she stared at the navigator, expression emotionless.

Delirium.

The gunshots soon became a distant whisper.

A concussion.

She only heard Ms. Orange Hair's heavy breaths.

Or maybe even blood loss.

She continued to stare at Ms. Orange Hair with unblinking black eyes as she concentrated on the one time Ms. Orange Hair had looked at her with pity.

Those and so many other reasons could have been why Ms. Orange Hair had decided to stand up for her. There were plenty of perfectly rational reasons why Ms. Orange Hair, her enemy, had acted the way she did when Roronoa scared her. Even if, when she further thought about them, they suddenly started to seem less plausible...they were still likely explanations. No, they were the  _only_ explanations why Ms. Orange Hair had acted kind to her while she was vulnerable. Now that she was perfectly calm, she could clearly see the reasoning behind the navigator shouting at Roronoa and saying all that weird stuff.

Really, it was Straw Hat's fault she did not realize sooner why Ms. Orange Hair did what she did. It was that dumbass' fault that it took her far longer to see something so obvious. All because he said Ms. Orange Hair—because he said Ms. Orange Hair—.

She shook her head. And then, she let out a long sigh.

It was a lie. She knew that. Such an obvious, ridiculous lie that anyone who wasn't a dumbass could see through. And the fact that she had actually felt...warm over that idea—even if it was just for a moment before she killed that damn sensation—appalled her. She was a professional assassin. A devil.

She should not have ever felt like... _that_ over a lie. She should not have felt  _anything_.

Yet, she had.

For a moment, her lips moved into a frown. But when she realized they did, she quickly forced them back into a thin line.

All the weird stuff she had seen these idiotic pirates do had been affecting her mind. Their stupidity made it so much harder for her to think logically and see what was right in front of her. But no matter what, she would not be deceived.

She looked down at her cast.

Every "kindness" she had been shown on this ship had just been tricks; even if they made no sense whatsoever. But then again, neither did these pirates.

Well, most of them anyway. Roronoa was basically the only pirate on this ship that acted—for the most part—like he was supposed to. Intimidating, stone-faced, ruthless and barely holding himself back from torturing her—she was sure that the only reason he "saved" her from the Sea King was so that he would not be denied his chance to make her scream. While she was not sure why he had not tried to do so already, she did know for a fact that if she did not get out of this ship soon, he would stop waiting. So, she needed to come up with a plan—one that did not get foiled at the last minute. But she needed supplies. The honey was covered in vomit, she had no idea where her smoke bomb went and save for what was in her skirt pocket, she had no weapons to help her escape. She had to wait and gather new materials and then she could-.

"Hey."

It took everything she had not to jolt up and whirl around on her stool. She instead slowly turned around and looked up.

Roronoa was looking down at her, at some point having moved away from the stars. And he was now standing only a few feet away from her.

She let out a long, deep breath.

"What?"

Her voice was just as hollow as her face—she made sure of that. Roronoa said nothing in response; he only looked down at her, lips in a thin line and expression emotionless.

She let out another breath. And in the silence of the room, she could hear the gunshots and screams—most of which were Mr. Tengu's—roaring through the ship.

What the hell could this bastard want?

Roronoa reached into his left pocket.

Was he finally going to start torturing her?

He pulled out something. She wasn't sure what, but it was something with a string.

Well, if he was, he would be disappointed when all she did was stare with empty eyes and then—.

With one hand holding a part of the string, a green, practically sparkling medallion swung left and right.

Her medallion.

She stared.

Her...pendant.

"This is your shit, right?"

She said nothing.

It was right in Roronoa's hand. Not even a few feet away.

"I found it in the bilge."

Her pendant was right there.

"Kinda surprised it ended up there."

Right there.

"Guess it fell through that crack on the deck or some—."

Every sound around her became muffled, like her ears had suddenly ruptured and no noise could get through the bloody walls within them. Her unblinking eyes stared at the green jewelry that should be in her grasp and in her hands and most certainly not this bastard's own. This bastard should be nowhere near  _her_ pendant. Not the pendant that was with her for years, not the one that had kept made her feel safe, and not the pendant that was the last thing she had of—!

She suddenly wasn't on a pirate ship.

She was suddenly back  _there._

And she was no longer a devil or an assassin and instead, she was just a little girl starting at a  _monster_ as he held her pendant in his hand.

Who.

Was.

_Smiling._

Her expression held no emotion.

Never again.

Slowly, her right hand moved into her pocket.

She would never let  _anyone_ take her pendant again. She wasn't a powerless little girl anymore, she was a devil.

She gripped the object in her pocket as tightly as she could.

An assassin.

Eyes that had no life within them whatsoever stared at Roronoa.

And she was about to show this  _fucker_ why no one should  _ever_ treat her as anything less.

"Hey, are you listening?"

She said nothing. Her only response had been to relax—her muscles were now loose and she now sat on the stool in a slouch, looking like she could care less about anything around her.

And then she waited.

For the perfect moment.

The only sound was gunfire and screams. Roronoa kept silent as he continued to stare at her.

At her face that was just as cold as the void inside her.

"I know this is yours, so just—."

The ship suddenly lurched to the right so badly everything in the room shifted. The broken objects on the floor tumbled, Roronoa staggered a few feet back, and her stool slid a little closer to the bastard. It was like something incredibly heavy and large had just jumped onto one side of the ship.

Roronoa looked up once the ship stopped swaying, her pendant still in his grasp.

"What the—?"

She saw her chance and  _moved._

In an instant, not even a second, every muscle in her body tensed as she kicked off her stool, leaping through the air. From her pocket she pulled out the jagged, sharp, piece of a broken mirror she had picked up from the floor and raised it above her head.

And once she was close enough to Roronoa, her grip on the glass blade so tight that blood gushed from her hand, she brought it down.

She heard the fabric of his haramaki ripping.

She felt her blade sink into his flesh.

And as the God damn bastard let out a painful shout, she twisted the piece of glass deeper into his stomach—far more painful and far more deadly then if she tried stabbing his dick or thigh or any other place on his body—and with just a little bit more force she would hit this  _motherfucker's_ intestines and then he would die slowly and-!

She barely saw it coming.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a shape. And as it got closer, her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

Because it was Roronoa's fist.

Roronoa's fist that was rapidly swinging towards her face.

And when it slammed into the side of her head, she was sent flying to the floor. She crashed onto the wooden planks, hard, and tumbled on the ground—the sharp broken bits of glass and porcelain scratching her legs and arms, parts of her clothes now ripped.

But she ignored the pain from the cuts on her body—both the old ones and new ones—and ignored the stinging agony in her face as she quickly got up, turning around once she stood tall.

She saw Roronoa standing across from her, hunched over slightly. The glass she had stabbed him with was sticking out of his stomach, but with one hand, he quickly removed it with a quick tug. She saw blood spilling over his haramaki, but Roronoa didn't even look a bit hurt from the literal hole in his stomach.

And as he lifted his head up, he glared at her, anger twisting his lips into a vicious snarl.

She had pissed off the demon. And now, she had to fight someone who was immune to her powers and also while she didn't have any weapons.

She let out a long breath.

Roronoa took a step forward, and she took a step back.

Another breath.

He took several steps forward. And her eyes darted around until they found a jagged piece of porcelain; she picked it up in an instant with her right hand and held it out in front of her.

Another breath. And then another.

Roronoa stopped moving, but his glare was still cruel and still radiating with malevolence.

Another breath left her lips. And another. And another. And another. And another

Fuck. What was she supposed to do? What the  _fuck_ was she supposed to?! The only thing between her and a God damn demon was a piece of a fucking vase! She had nothing else to help her, so she was already—!

Wait, why wasn't Roronoa moving?

With a few more heavy breaths, her eyes scanned every inch of Roronoa. He stood frozen to the spot, eyes still full of anger, but for some reason he didn't take another step.

Blood continued to drip down her hand and up her arm as she continued to tightly grip the piece of porcelain.

He was stronger, faster, and the flimsy excuse she had for a weapon wasn't even a slight threat to Roronoa. So then, what in the hell was he waiting for? What could be stopping him from—?

There was a cough. Her head whirled around to where she heard it.

And she saw Ms. Orange Hair laying on her bed. The still sleeping, still sick, still  _completely helpless_ , navigator.

Her eyes widened. She whirled back to Roronoa.

And she saw that amidst the anger burning in his expression...there was also fear.

Fear for the navigator's life.

For a moment, neither she nor Roronoa moved. Somehow, any noise or surroundings faded to nothing, and all she could see was Roronoa. All she could hear was the blood dripping down her hand and hitting the floor.

And she was just about to turn and start sprinting. She was already so close to Ms. Orange Hair that even if Roronoa ran as fast as he could, he would not make it in time to stop her. All she had to was sprint a few feet and then she could jump on the bed and take Ms. Orange Hair hostage.

But before she could move, the ship lurched again—like something massive had just fallen right in the center.

She stumbled.

The demon did not.

Just as she was falling forward, Rorona sprinted. All she saw was a blur, and then something picked her up, her blade slipping out of her hand and falling to the floor.

And then all she felt was cold, wooden planks as the side of her face slammed into a wall, vision blurring from the impact and Bob flying off her head. Pain flooded her cheek as she coughed a thick glob of blood that painted a spot on the wall crimson. But she didn't focus on the pain. Or the blood filling her mouth with every second.

All she could focus on was her back.

On the rough, callous fingers that held her up against the wall. Even through her shirt, she felt his nail dig into her skin, sharp and biting.

She froze, unable to breathe.

The hold on her back got tighter, and it started to itch.

She quickly realized what was happening.

The itch got worse.

She was pinned to a wall by someone who wanted to break her as sharp, painful fingers pieced her back.

Her back was suddenly on fire—the rest of her body trembling now.

Her vision started to return.

It felt like there were hot, agonizing knives cutting away at her skin, methodically inflicting as much pain as possible and making sure she was still conscious to experience it.

Any darkness in her vision disappeared.

And all she could see was  _him_  pinning her to a wall. The wood her face smashed against turned to cold, unfeeling brick and the smell of blood and ash was so thick it felt like she was drowning. Smoke hid everything from sight except the one  _thing_  she desperately did not want to see. And even with her body in agony and pain clouding her every sense, even with the blood stinging her eyes, she could still see.

She could see that  _monster_ smiling.

And then she heard it. That Voice— _his_ voice. The voice she heard so many times in her head, so many times when she closed her eyes. That God awful, fucking  _terrifying_ soft yet somehow echoing voice that strangled the life out of any part of her that thought she could get away. And the words that left his mouth, the words that stabbed right through her with ease, assured her that she was about to  _suffer._

_Scream for me._

She tried not to. She tried to keep her mouth shut. She tried to bite her damn tongue and keep silent.

But the squeal left her mouth before she could stop it.

Yes, squeal. She—a devil—was squealing in pure terror, eyes wide, body trembling uncontrollably in the grasp that pinned her. And as her squeal grew louder, her fear slithered and mangling every part of her body. Her terror was now obvious to anyone looking at her God damn pathetic expression. Obvious to the god damn  _monster_ enjoying her feeble, high-pitched, screams—!

The fingers on her back suddenly weren't there anymore. Her body slid down the wall and hit the ground. The moment she hit the floor and realized that she was out of Roronoa's grasp, she scrambled on the ground, picked up Bob and held its brim in a white-knuckled grip, and ran. She would've run right out of the room, but she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going, and so she never saw the fallen dresser blocking her path until she crashed into its side face-first.

But she didn't really care about the pain in her face or how stupid what she just did was.

She whirled around, pressing her back as far as she could against the dresser, and quickly looked up.

All she could think about was that she was still in the same room as that  _terrifying—!_

When she saw Roronoa, she couldn't help but stare. Because Roronoa had on a very different expression than what she thought. It was a _...weird_  expression.

There wasn't any malice within his face. Or anger. Or any emotion she had expected to see. She only saw a deep frown. She only saw wide eyes. She only saw...

Shame?

At least, that was the closest emotion that could describe what she saw on Roronoa's expression. But, that didn't make sense. Why would he feel shame? And why hadn't he moved yet? She had just stabbed him, she was completely vulnerable, so why did he just...stand there like one of her Color Traps had frozen him to the spot?

And why was he just...staring at her—?

She realized there was something wet going down her face.

Her eyes widened even further as she brought her right arm up and quickly wiped it against her face.

It was—it was just sweat. Cold, bitter sweat that had been born from her fear and panic, and nothing else. It wasn't—it wasn't the other stuff. Even as scared as she was now, she would never be so weak to do  _that_ ever again.

Once she wiped all the sweat off her face, she looked back at Roronoa, who still hadn't taken even a step.

Who still had...shame on his face.

She didn't know for how long, but neither she nor Roronoa spoke or moved. She heard nothing but the sound of her own heart slamming against her ribs every second and her unblinking eyes refused to look away from Roronoa. Her grip on Bob had gotten even tighter, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the blood from her hand staining the edge of her hat crimson. The wounds on her body, both the old wounds and the new wounds she had just gotten, all stung, especially on her back—she could still feel those painful knife-like slashes piercing the skin of her back; it made her tremble, and she just couldn't kill that God-awful sensation. Her mouth was clamped shut, and she had every intention of making sure it stayed that way.

But then she realized Roronoa still had her pendant.

"Gi-give it back."

Her voice was shaky at best and the fear in her words couldn't possibly be mistaken for anything else, the blood in her mouth spilling over her lips with each word she spoke.

Whatever was going on in Roronoa's head, what she just said snapped him out of his daze as his blinked, head slowly turning towards the pendant in his hand.

And even with the blood making it difficult to speak, she spoke her words as coherently as she could.

"Give it ba-back."

Damn it. She  _hated_ how she, an emotionless assassin who had killed time and time again, was fucking stuttering. She knew just how pathetic that made her sound, but she just couldn't kill the fear draining the color from her face with every second. She shouldn't even be talking right now—honestly, she wasn't even sure how she was talking with her throat feeling so tight that just breathing was difficult—because it was only a matter of  _seconds_ before Roronoa would finish what he started.

But...

"Th-that's..."

She just...

"That's not you-yours."

She just couldn't stand the sight of seeing her precious pendant in the hands of that fucker.

"That pendant...is  _mine_. _"_

She  _glared_ at Roronoa; even with the fear overwhelming her every thought. She was trembling, her grip on Bob only getting stronger, her back still feeling like it was getting ripped to shreds by incredibly sharp claws over and over again, but she still glared at the fucker in front of her with every bit of hatred she could gather. Her lips were in the best bloody snarl she could manage; her voice, while shaky, blazed with fury that she hoped to God surpassed the terror her words still held.

Because even if this bastard was about to torture her in every painful way possible, she wanted him to know one basic fact: that pendant in his hands would always be hers.

The only person who ever loved her had given it to her, and nothing would change that.

Roronoa slowly looked away from the pendant and back to her; she continued to glare at him with her pale, fearful yet enraged, face.

Not death.

Roronoa glanced at one of his katanas—the one with the white hilt—and her trembling got worse.

Not torture.

Roronoa took a step forward, and she clenched her eyes shut tightly as she could.

Nothing would ever change the fact that there had been one person in the world who loved her!

Her eyes were still shut as she waited for the bastard to get started. But she didn't hear him take even one more step. She didn't hear him take out any of his swords. All she could hear was her heart beating rapidly throughout her ears as she suffocated on her own fear.

But then, she heard something else. It sounded like something skipping along the floor.

Hesitantly, she opened her right eye.

And near her feet, she saw her pendant.

Her eyes went wide and she immediately dropped Bob for a moment before she grabbed the comforting green medallion off the floor. In an instant, she placed the string around her neck, and her pendant once again hung just below the neckline of her t-shirt.

But...why was it...why would he...

She looked up.

And Roronoa was slowly backing away from her.

Away.

Not towards.

She blinked.

Roronoa continued to take careful steps backward, looking away from her and instead at the hatch of the room.

She blinked several times.

Once Roronoa was as far away from her as possible, his back now leaning against the wall, he spoke—and his voice was far quieter than she had ever heard from him before, having to strain her ears to hear properly.

"Next time, ask for your stuff back  _first_."

She was blinking every second now, eyes wide as she couldn't look away from...the  _impossible_ event happening in front of her. And when she finally spoke, there was no fear in her voice.

Only shock. The same shock that now flooded every inch of her body.

"What?"

Roronoa did not respond.

"What?"

He continued to look away from her as she continued to blink.

_"What?"_

For a second, she saw him glancing at her. And the moment his eyes met her own, his expression became incredibly uncomfortable before he looked away again.

And as Straw Hat roared something above deck, she tried to figure out just what the  _fuck_  was wrong with everyone on this ship.

But there was no answer to her question.

None at all.

_**Report 006: End** _


End file.
